(After simulated crash and deployment)
32 year old British speed skier Jan Farrell has become the first man to complete a 'live test' the new air bag approved for downhill ski racers by the International Ski Federation (FIS).
Farrell took to the slopes of La Pinilla, a small ski resort an hour north of Madrid yesterday, 2nd of February, to test out the D-Air® Ski device, just before the start of the Alpine World Championships in Colorado.
The new airbags, designed to increase safety and minimise injury for ski racers are the result of several years of research and development by Italian company Dainese, the market leader for protection in sports, working with several of the world's top ski racers.
Jan staged his crash at 80kph (50mph), substantially less than one of his standard runs but a good test speed for the device. The unit activated successfully, ensuring a safe injury-free fall and demonstrating the performance of the system.
"Before the first impact against the ground, the D-air deployed. I heard a boom and instantly felt how the airbag inflated, it was like being inside a shell. I felt safe and protected during the fall: after the initial tumbling and sliding for about 70m, I came to a stop, unbruised," said Jan.
This is the first time Dainese has performed a simulation in real life conditions with a production unit, aside internal initial testing.
Vittorio Cafaggi, Director of Strategic Development for Dainese was present during the testing in La Pinilla, and commented,
"Today's test was very important in case any athlete still had any doubts. Thanks to Jan, we've tested that the system works and that it doesn't interfere in the natural movements and performance of the skiers."
D-air® Ski is able to absorb 61% of the force generated by impact and is fully integrated into an elastic vest that fits under the race suit and above the back protector. The algorithm now implemented in the D-air® Ski system is the result of a thorough analysis of data from the runs of the World Cup over two seasons, involving 4 federations, 26 athletes, 238 runs and 700 minutes of data. It was written to meet the specific requirements of Alpine skiing, it activates each time the athlete's body performs rotations that are anomalous compared to normal racing dynamics and the signals coming from 7 sensors exceeds a predetermined threshold.
The two building blocks of the D-air® Ski are the electronic and the pneumatic components. The electronics are housed in a pack on the back and include an inertial platform with 3 accelerometers, 3 gyroscopes, a GPS, a microprocessor for algorithm management and memory. Signals from these sensors are constantly analysed by the algorithm, and inflation is triggered if the conditions require it; The pneumatics consist of a bag with an internal 3D structure, inflatable to high pressure, and a "cold" gas generator.