Alpinestars Reveals Tech Air Race Wireless Electronic Airbag System
Alpinestars Reveals Tech Air Race Wireless Electronic Airbag System
Alpinestars is the latest Italian protective apparel maker to develop a wireless airbag for motorcyclists. Tech Air Race inflates two bags located around the shoulders of the wearer in just 0.05 of a second. The bags remain fully inflated for 5 seconds and deflate completely in 25. The patented "dual-charge" design automatically re-arms itself and is immediately capable of inflating both bags a second time.
How does the system know the rider is crashing? Ten years of research and data logging went into developing the
complicated algorithms that determine the answer to that multi-faceted question. Developed with U.K.-based Cosworth Electronics, this "active protection" needs
only 0.08 of a second to conclude if the rider is about to step off his machine.
Early work focused as much on designing and building the tools to collect
relevant data in real time using an actual rider as it did on analyzing results. In 2003, former MotoGP star John Hopkins became the first rider to wear a suit equipped with sensors and "miles of wiring." Fellow Alpinestars-backed racers Jeremy McWilliams and Kenny Roberts Jr. also participated in the program. In '06, Casey Stoner was wired to record relative acceleration in all planes, impact forces, track position and even physiological effects, such as body temperature and heart rate.
According to Alpinestars, 48 percent of all motorcycle-racing-related injuries— mostly breaks and dislocations—occur in the shoulder area. This information allowed Alpinestars to reduce the overall size and weight—a little more than 1 pound—of the system without shortchanging protection. The battery-powered control unit is located in the "speed hump" on the upper back of the suit. The airbags themselves are inflated with a maximum pressure of approximately 14.5 psi using a nitrogen-based gas—one replaceable cylinder per inflation.
Alpinestars expects to offer consumers a racing/ track-day version of Tech Air Race by June of 2011. Cost will be approximately $2500, plus the price of the leathers. Dirtand street-oriented versions of the system are currently undergoing evaluation, with the latter 2-3 years from production. —Matthew Miles
