Nowadays almost everybody, even most bad ass bikers wear safety helmets, and there is a very good reason for that. Because science has evolved significantly, their design and material are so good that they can save your life in most cases! Now, things have gone to a bit higher level, as Brycen Spencer, an engineering student at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, has designed a safety helmet that could help save the lives of thousands of people.
He named the helmet Wireless Impact Guardian, or WIG, and made it so that it signals for help even when the wearer is unconscious.
“The WIG will be activated when it is buckled on,” says Spencer. “If you fall and hit your head, the helmet will detect that and beep for a minute or so. If you don’t turn it off, WIG sends for help, either directly to 911 or to a third-party service that relays the emergency call to 911. Included with the message will be a GPS location giving your geographical coordinates so the emergency team knows precisely where you are.”
Also, it will be very good for motorcyclists, bicyclists, ATV enthusiasts and others which venture into more remote areas. Just in 2004 there were 76,000 motorcycle-related injuries, and the number keeps growing. Most cases had tragic outcomes because victims had to wait a long time for emergency response crews to find them. He used money from his scholarships ($2500) and from his own pocket ($2500) to build this and buy a 20-year patent.
He used a accelerometer to detect any impact that exceeds a predetermined safety level and a communication device to provide the location of the victim to the rescue crews. The parts themselves are very small, so they fit in a helmet with very little adjustments. He’s enjoying success already, and his invention is in fact the only one of this type.
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