Wearable airbags keep the elderly from hitting the ground so hard
By Joseph L. Flatley 
posted Sep 24th 2008 11:38PM
posted Sep 24th 2008 11:38PM
[Thanks, Steve]
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I've fallen and I can't inflate my airbag.
This was the first thing that popped into my head, but I think the deflating would be more of a problem.
+1
You fall down and it inflates and from that you start bouncing like a ball, more impact (quantity-wise), ill stick to normal gear....
Paint it green, then say "Don't make me mad, you wont like me when I'm mad!!!" you can guess what to do next....
I'm thinking Halloween.
What if you are jumping up?? will it detect a fall and deploy airbags?
OnStar is going to get a lot more popular with these things :p
Warning: Do not wear during rough sex.
(Exceptions: Engadget readers may disregard this warning)
If it inflates in 1/10 of a second, the impact from the airbag would just add to it, Imho.
@Nick J
You call 1/10 of a second rough? Bah! Maybe if you were on the pavement...
thanks for adding constructively to the conversation...
congratulations
Alternate title:
Wearable airbags keep the intoxicated from hitting the ground so hard
Like airlines life jackets, these come with manual inflate tubes in the event the gas charge is defective. Simply reach for the tube and blow while falling to the ground.
+1 for the Airplane reference
lorddshadow,
Sorry, but that was not an Airplane! reference. This comment by linuxamp merely made you think of the Airplane! scene where the lead actress inflates the autopilot by blowing on the tube at his belt, making it look like she's going down on an inflatable dummy.
Thanks for playing "Airplane! reference or not Airplane! reference," and we'll see you next week.
As someone who has a grandmother with incredibly brittle bones, this could actually be a godsend. She fell once, and was in the hospital for 3 months. I don't think she could handle another fall.
The price is just way too much...I wonder if medicare will subsidize it.
dexter's lab ftw
You think 3 months in the hospital and Nursing Home is cheaper than $1400? Think Again. Kevin
I thought Honda already had patents for wearable airbags for its motorcycle division ... Maybe I was wrong
Honda has an Airbag in it motorcycle but i do remember that there was an airbag in a jacket that protects you back when you fall off your bike... it might be honda....
I am not sure about this
then don't use it
Gladice?! Is that you?.. Get back to your room!
That extra weight will just make them fall that little bit faster..
Yes, because we all know that is exactly how gravity works. Drop, say, a feather and a bowling ball from the tower of Pisa, and guess which on will hit the ground first? Yup, the Tower of Pisa. Astronauticles the Greek did that exact experiement.
It's called impulse. Extends the time of the impulse, spreads out the force over that time... This is pretty much how everything that protects you works, from cars' crumple zones to bike helmets.
@Bill
The bowling ball will drop first. The fact that objects of varying size fall at the same rate is a statement about the constant of gravity. The feather may be lighter, but it also shaped in such a way as to increase drag and thus slow descent. Drop an 8 pound bowling ball and a 16 pound bowling ball from the Tower of Pisa, where the Cd of each object is identical to the other (both are, in theory, smooth spheres) and they will reach the ground at the same time. But a bowling ball and a feather? The bowling ball wins, not because of weight, but because of air resistance.
@Bill
1 million internetz for you.
.....are they allowed to say 'ass' on the internet?
Just claim typo. That's what I do bigger. Whoops.
I see where you're coming from, but I'm not sure I fully make the connection..
Are you trying to say that the rabbits will indeed eat our faces when our plentiful supply of lettuce is gone? Or am I totally missing the point?
Ha. I voted you up.
...but I've only slept for two out of the last thirty-three hours.
What do you MEAN there isn't a video after the jump?!
don't you mean after the fall?
I was kind of hoping to see this in action too. :(
Yea me too..
I really love videos with bike accidents, especially the ones in slow motion.
There is something so artistic about them that I can't describe with words...
There's got to be a use for that on some wacky Japanese game show. Here's an idea - you have to spin around for 5 minutes, and then you have to get to the other side of the room - if you fall down, the bags inflate, but then they burst on impact and you get some sort of icky stuff all over you.
Hmmm... falling down and getting some sort of icky stuff all over you.
I think I know what sort of Japanese shows _you've_ been watching.
Don't you just want to go into a crowded elevator and set one of these off? Or multiple airbags in a chain reaction. Or wear one in a fight. I imagine they'd also be excellent for bicyclists and divers, and loads of other applications.
Wait, doesn't Acme already has this in their 'instant muscles' collection?
that looks awesome
i could use it for rollerblading
In the event of a water landing your airbag can also be used as a flotation device.
While I see this being put to good use, I'm going to file it away along with future robots that wipe your ass for you or lick your stamps.
Hmm, kind of like the robot servants in WALL-E?
And yes, I know this isn't robotic.
This is very cool - I'm glad the tech is finally at a point where it is cheap and reliable enough to deploy. We did this 15 years ago with off the shelf hardware and some custom electronics. Check it out:
http://www.plymptonia.com/airbag.html
-Dan
There just trying to get fanny packs back into fashion!!
only people who use them are american holiday makers and stall market owners!
I wonder if i have mine in the loft???
Teeheehee... he said "fanny"
Protect my head AND my ass?
Sign me up!
yes, but who picks you up?
Oh yeah, because airbags are so darn heavy.
This has me thinking Snow Crash
Snow Crash, anyone?
Next thing we know, the U.S. will be hit with hyperinflation, and we'll all be living in Mr. Lee's Greater Hong Kong.
Wow guys. This has been out for at least a year.
http://www.dainese.com/eng/d-air.asp
how'd that happen, absurdio? were you served a bad white russian at jackie treehorn's party?
Nice to know my ass will be protected if I fall on my face!
gee.. what's more likely, i was downranked for a big lebowski joke, or my stalker-crazies were busy finding anything i've done to downrank. congrats, you've fulfilled your purpose in life, scumbags
And if you do fall to your demise it can double as a body bag.