An automatic air inflated tubelesssafety jacket for motorbike riders

Abstract

Purpose–Motorcycle is one of the popular modes of transport in developing countries. However,the statistics related to accidents show that motorcycles are the most vulnerable vehicles. Research studieshave revealed that half of all the possible types of motorcycle injuries could be reduced or prevented usingeffective protective clothing. Facts andfigures emphasize that this is high time to develop a safety jacket formotorbike riders. This paper aims to develop an innovative, integrated automatic air-inflated tubeless jacketto prevent major injuries in fatal accidents.Design/methodology/approach–Two accelerometers integrated near the front axle, an angle sensorand the electronic control unit (ECU) were used to detect the collision or accident. The sensors werefixed onthe bike and connected with the ECU via a bluetooth device that was always at the activated stage. The fusedsensors were emulated with the ECU under laboratory conditions. The trigger signal generated by the crashdiscriminant algorithm triggered the chemical reaction to generate N2 gas and inflate the tubeless safetyjacket.Findings–Under laboratory conditions, it was found that the signal generated by the ECU unit ejectedapproximately 15 litres of N2 gas in volume tofill the jacket within 100 milliseconds, which was less than theapproximate estimated falling time of the rider 120 milliseconds.Originality/value–The existing developments of airbag systems in motorbikes are mounted on themotorbikes’frame, following the airbag systems in automobiles. These developments cannot fully protect therider due to differentiation in crash dynamics and respective positions of the rider at the point of impact.Though few safety jackets and airbag vests are developed, the airbag deployment is activated when rider andmotorbike separated during a collision using a tether-triggering mechanism. The authors designed the jacketso that inflation is activated not only by crash sensors but also on the fusion of multiple sensors based on acrash discriminative algorithm. The airbag deployment mechanism is incorporated with the jacket and actsas a safety jacket during a collision.