Motorcycles scare the shit out of me. I am a total pussy. I am making this shameful admission up front.
Its not the act of riding one at all that does me in. In fact when I see someone out enjoying the road on a bike I'm frequently jealous. It just looks so much fun. The thing that gets me though is having to put it down or worse, being struck by a car.
There's good news though for pansies like me, according to this New York Times article. Motorcycle apparel company Alpinestars is producing a state of the art protective suit that should go on sale in the United States next summer. The suit features five accelerometers, like the thing in the iPhone that makes the screen tilt. Except instead of that handy level app, this keeps your bones from breaking should you and the bike suddenly part ways. The accelerometers are mated to a central processing unit located at the back of the suit. Should the CPU determine you're about to meet the pavement it triggers a canister of nitrogen to inflate airbags sewn inside the suit. All of this happens in about 100 milliseconds. Really impressive technology. This kinda stuff might void the warranty though.
Be safe out there.
No comments:
Post a Comment