Helmets are not only getting safer, they're getting smarter! A New Zealand horse magazine reports that an engineering student at the University of Massachusetts Amherst has developed a motorcycle helmet that wirelessly calls for help in the event of --and this is my new favorite phrase -- "traumatic deceleration." The Wireless Impact Guardian, or WIG, signals for help when its sensors detect an impact. The wearer need take no action. In fact, he the helmet is designed to work when the wearer is unconscious. This innovation could help save the lives of thousands of motorcycle riders and the technology can easily be adapted to horseback riding helmets. The helmet includes:
- an accelerometor to detect impact/trauma
- a wireless device to call for help
- a GPS system to indicate your location
- a beeping device and timer (if you turn off the beeper after an accident, the helmet is deactivated
For those of us who ride alone, this could provide some piece of mind. I'd also like one that beeps when I tilt my head down--or maybe a voice with a thick German accent says "Why are you looking down???! Look where you are going!"Read the full article
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How cool is that...of course when my cousin was still an engineering student at Rose Hulman (now employed by Northrup Grumman)I told him I wanted to invent an impact sensor, like the size of a pager that my kid could wear at the barn, that would send a signal to my cell phone if there was an "impact" of any kind. Could I be a millionaire today? Maybe.....another one bites the dust. ;(
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