20 most recent innovations in safety

Helmet-Mounted Brake Light

Fri, 28 Apr 2017 00:00:00 Z

The BrakeFree smart brake light for motorcyclists offers increased visibility by placing a brake light on the helmet itself.

The BrakeFree mounts magnetically to the back of the existing motorcycle helmet, where its sensor array will detect the braking motion and trigger the LEDs to illuminate. The BrakeFree work independently of the vehicle itself, detecting both engine braking and brake activation, and offers a 120-degree viewing angle—much more than the cycle’s small rear brake light provides.

Dousing Flames With Low-Frequency Sound Waves

Fri, 03 Feb 2017 00:00:00 Z

A new type of extinguisher that uses sound waves to put out fires has been built by two engineering students in the US. Both chemical- and water-free, the invention offers a relatively non-destructive method of fire control, which could find applications in fighting small fires in the home, and the researchers now hold a preliminary patent application for their device.

The principle behind the extinguisher is simple: as they are mechanical pressure waves that cause vibrations in the medium in which they travel, sound waves have the potential to manipulate both burning material and the oxygen that surrounds it. If the sound could be used to separate the two, the fire would be starved of oxygen and, accordingly, would be snuffed out.

Pink Noise Protects Passengers' Ears

Wed, 02 Nov 2016 00:00:00 Z

Mercedes-Benz has taken auto safety a step farther with its pink noise system, which will protect passengers from the dangerously high decibels of the crash.

Part of the company’s Pre-Safe system, the pink noise technology relies on the car’s stereo system, which will emit a “short interference signal” just before a predicted collision. This pink noise signal (a combination of all possible tones) will stimulate the ear’s stapedius muscle and cause it to contract, protecting the delicate ear drum and inner ear.

Brightspark Bike Lights Double-Up for Safety

Thu, 29 Sep 2016 00:00:00 Z

The Brightspark bike lights increase visibility with its dual sets of lights that catch drivers’ attention more quickly.

Developed by Brightspark Global, the lights’ design is based on the knowledge that widely-spaced pairs of lights are more attention-getting than standard bike lights. The lights mount to the bike’s handlebars, and feature both head and tail lights as well as turn signals. The lights—including the turn signals—are triggered by a thumb control, and the Brightspark system will also project the turn indicator signal onto the road via a set of lasers, further increasing biker safety.

Windshield-blocking Device May Give The Boot To Wheel Boots

Wed, 28 Sep 2016 00:00:00 Z

We've all seen them … illegally-parked cars that have had wheel boots placed on them, which won't be removed until the fine is paid. Those boots are heavy and cumbersome to carry, however, plus the people who put them on typically have to kneel dangerously close to passing traffic. That's why New York-based Ideas That Stick developed the windshield-blocking Barnacle.

Folding in half when not in use, the Barnacle adheres to the windshield using two pump-activated commercial grade suction cups that can reportedly withstand hundreds of pounds of pulling force. Parking officials can carry several of the devices in the back of their vehicle, and need only lean across offending cars from the curb in order to install them.

Should the drivers of those cars try removing the Barnacle on their own or driving away with it still on, a built-in alarm will sound (that said, one has to wonder how many people might just drive it away with it on

Tiny Sensors Make Railroad Crossings Safer

Fri, 26 Aug 2016 00:00:00 Z

Tiny wireless sensors powered by the vibrations of train rails could offer a more efficient way to trigger safety lights and gates.

Currently, the sensors used to detect approaching trains at automatically-controlled crossings must be hard-wired to the crossing’s light and gates. To help eliminate the need for wiring and add a new level of safety, a team from the University of Huddersfield created a network of tiny sensors that would attach to the rails and power themselves by harnessing the vibrations of oncoming trains. The sensors would communicate with other nodes on the network, and any damaged sensor would simply be bypassed, allowing the information to travel uninterrupted down the line.

Vibrating Boots To Help Astronauts Keep Their Footing

Tue, 26 Jul 2016 00:00:00 Z

Research has shown that the low gravity on the Moon can actually make it harder to stay upright as it is harder for astronauts to distinguish up from down. The pressure suits that don't let astronaut's see their feet and their bulky boots don't help proceedings and puts them at constant risk of tripping for a potentially fatal fall. To keep future explorers on their feet, MIT researchers are developing a new space boot that uses built-in sensors and tiny "haptic" motors to help guide the wearer around obstacles by means of vibrations.

Popular science fiction makes spacesuits seem no more complicated than a wetsuit and scuba gear, but they're actually extremely complex bits of technology that combine space engineering with tailoring. They are also bulky, hard to move about in with any grace and, since the astronaut is essentially trying to navigate a human-shaped balloon with a fishbowl stuck on top, something as simple as stepping over a curb can be a major hazard.

Still in its preliminary design phase, the space boot being developed by researchers at MIT's Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics and the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory is essentially a shoe with proximity detectors and a haptic feedback system to tell the wearer where and how close an obstacle is. Other, more Earthbound systems have had similar functions, such as inserts working with an app for navigation and toe-ticklers linked to GPS, However, the information given is often very simple, such as buzzing the left or right foot to indicate walking directions.

The MIT team's goal for is to come up with a more efficient and reliable system for the space boot so it can convey spatial information. To do this, they are investigating what sort of stimuli best communicates information, where to place the haptic motors, and what are the best cues to send to the wearer.

The original concept was to use a series of haptic motors positioned around the foot. The initial design had six haptic motors surrounding each foot with one motor at the heel, big toe, and instep, and three motors along the outer edge of the foot. The vibrations would buzz as sensors picked up an obstacle in proximity of the foot and warn the wearer of its direction and distance.

Based on proximity, the vibrations would vary smoothly from minimum to maximum without a break, but in initial tests where subjects had to identify the intended stimuli, the team found that if the subjects were distracted,when taking a simple computer test, for example, they couldn't identify the gradual increases in vibration, nor could they discern the direction of the stimulus. In addition, some parts of the foot proved very insensitive to stimulation.

Based on these tests, the team produced a simpler design using motors at the toe, heel, and the front of the outside of the foot. In addition, the vibrations weren't varied smoothly, but in jumps from low to high intensity to produce an unambiguous warning that a collision with some obstacle is imminent with the high-intensity vibration coming in pulses to get the point across.

According to MIT, the team is planning further trials using a more advanced prototype of the boot. The first trials will deal with the problems of stepping over obstacles of different heights and learning how the haptic signals can be coordinated with visual cues. Once made practical, the team believes that the space boot could be useful not only for astronauts, but for rescue workers, the elderly, and the visually impaired back on Earth.

One-Way Shields Give Riot Police The Edge

Mon, 18 Jul 2016 00:00:00 Z

Combating riots is a thankless job, and it isn't helped by the fact that the only thing separating rioters and police is a thin barrier of transparent plastic that allows both sides to see each other clearly. To provide the police with a psychological advantage, Nottingham Trent University undergraduate Ben Palmer has come up with a new riot shield that allows the police to see the rioters clearly, but not vice versa.

Riots are frightening and destructive affairs as the forces of law and order break down, putting lives and property in peril. In civilized societies, the police are expected to quell such disturbances with a minimum of force and a maximum of patience. To do this, police forces around the world use methods that would have been familiar to any soldier in ancient Rome.

The basic idea is that riot police use a tactic known as the phalanx. That is, they form a solid line of officers with interlocking shields designed to cover most of the body. These shields create a solid barrier that is very difficult to break, and additional shields can be raised to protect against bottles and other missiles. Behind this line are more police to act as reinforcements, or companies of mounted police who act as a cavalry to ride out unexpectedly and disburse rioters.

The problem with this approach is that the shields used by modern riot police aren't quite fit for purpose. They're transparent to give the officers as wide a view as possible, but they also allow the rioters a clear view of the police line and whatever is behind them. Worse, it allows the rioters to make eye contact with the police, which is poor psychology.

Twenty-one year-old BA Product Design student Ben Palmer interviewed rioters and police, and learned that the police would gain the psychological advantage with "one-way privacy." That is, the police being able to see the rioters, but not the reverse.

The result was a new plastic shield that allows the police to see the rioters clearly, but gives the rioters only the haziest of views – something like a trick mirror or car window tinting. This way, the rioters would be denied eye contact and wouldn't be able to judge the police force's numbers, types, or capabilities.

The new shield is made of polycarbonate, which is standard for riot shields, but the clever bit is a coating of perforated vinyl that creates an optical illusion. The vinyl is filled with tiny holes and is white on one side and black on the other. Anyone on the white side (the rioters) would focus on the bright white surface and not see through the holes except dimly, if at all. The ones on the black side (the police) would focus on the light coming through the holes and see a clear image. Since the effect is based on how humans process vision, it works under most lighting conditions.

Sticky Hoods Reduce Pedestrian Injuries

Tue, 24 May 2016 00:00:00 Z

Google has been awarded a patent for a new safety system for self-driving cars that reduces injuries to pedestrians by sticking them to the hood of car after impact.

While being hit by a car is bad enough, further injuries can occur when the person hits the ground. To avoid these additional injuries, the car’s hood and front side panels would be coated with layer of adhesive covered with a thin shell (to prevent bugs and dirt from sticking to it). When a large object, such as a person, impacts the car, the shell will break open, exposing the adhesive and holding the person on the car to avoid any additional impacts with the road.

Unsinkable Swimsuits

Thu, 19 May 2016 00:00:00 Z

A new, unsinkable swimsuit line keeps the wearer above water via a collection of tiny air bubbles in the lining.

Created by designer Katerina Semenko and inventor Valery Griaznov, the swimsuits were inspired by the fact that humans naturally float when our lungs are full of air. The suits are embedded with tubes filled with tiny air bubbles (which the team calls the Uslon Guarding system), and are inexpensive to manufacture. The added bit of buoyancy helps keep the wearer above water, and the suits are not affected by punctures.

Smart System Cancels Motorcycle Turn Signals Automatically

Thu, 04 Feb 2016 00:00:00 Z

By transmitting misleading information to other road users, forgetting to cancel a turn indicator can be potentially dangerous. The Smart Turn System is a self-canceling device for motorcycles, designed to accurately determine when a maneuver has been completed before switching off the indicators.

Self-cancelling turn signal systems are standard in almost every modern car, but they are not so common in motorcycles. Most available systems on the market, including the OEM systems on offer by Harley-Davidson, BMW and Triumph, operate with a simple timer relay, while some after-market solutions add an adjustable timer.

The Smart Turn System (STS) differs with an innovative setup that monitors the motorcycle's motion and determines the correct time to cancel the indicators. It has been designed by ABCS Sistem, a Slovenian start-up founded in 2014 in the country's capital, Ljubljana, by Miha Kovač and Rok Upelj, with the goal of bringing motorcycle automation to the next level.

"I was riding around with turn signals left on after a completion of a maneuver and a very attentive car driver cut me off from the side road," says Miha Kovač. "His assumption of me intending to make a right turn at the crossroad was soundly based on what he was able to see: a blinking turn signal. There is always a risk of something going wrong on the road. One false indication and it is all over. Nothing is more valuable than life itself – this is why we have to reduce this risk as much as possible."

The STS uses motion sensor technology to collect hundreds of data elements that quantify the bike's trajectory, inclination, acceleration and vibrations. These are compiled in order to determine whether the rider has completed a turn, changed a lane or exited a roundabout burn automatically canceling the turn signal.

After an extensive period of in-house testing on various motorcycles by several riders, the next step is to offer it for beta testing sometime in March or April – interested parties can apply at the STS website. At the same time the company will start collecting pre-orders at a discounted price and, should everything go as planned, shipping will start by July.

The device is applicable to most motorcycles and is claimed to be easy to install. It will be offered with all the model-specific connection cables, including a power line to the motorcycle's battery. Planning includes two different versions of the STS: a plug 'n' play for those motorcycles that have a central turn signal connector and a slightly more complicated one that will require connecting separately to the left and right indicator cables. The STS is waterproof and can be placed anywhere on the motorcycle, provided that this location will be permanent as the module will have to be calibrated before it is fully functional as intended.

Beetle Inspired Coating Stops Frost

Tue, 02 Feb 2016 00:00:00 Z

An advanced coating, inspired by a beetle’s shell, could be used to prevent frost forming on components including aircraft parts and windscreens a team of US researchers has claimed.

The technology, which has been developed at Virginia Tech, uses photolithography to create chemical micropatterns to control the growth of frost caused by condensation.

According to a paper in the online journal Scientific Reports, the technique takes its inspiration from the Namib Desert Beetle, which has a water repellent surface studded with bumps that attract water. These bumps enable it to collect airborne water, which then flows down water-repellant channels towards the insect’s mouth.

Jonathan Boreyko, an assistant professor of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics in the Virginia Tech College of Engineering said that by mimicking this ability to control where dew-drops grow it’s is possible to create frost-proof surfaces.

The journey of frost across a surface begins with a single, frozen dewdrop, the researchers said.

“The twist is how ice bridges grow,” Boreyko said. “Ice harvests water from dew drops and this causes ice bridges to propagate frost across the droplets on the surface. Only a single droplet has to freeze to get this chain reaction started.”

By controlling spacing of the condensation, the researchers were able to control the speed frost grows across surfaces, or completely prevent frost.

“We made a single dry zone around a piece of ice,” Boreyko said. “Dew drops preferentially grow on the array of hydrophilic dots. When the dots are spaced far enough apart and one of the drops freezes into ice, the ice is no longer able to spread frost to the neighboring drops because they are too far away. Instead, the drops actually evaporate completely, creating a dry zone around the ice.”

Creating frost-free zones on larger surfaces could have a variety of applications – including on wind turbines or airplane wings, where a huge amount of energy I currently used up on frost reduction.

This isn’t the first time that engineers have been inspired by the beetle’s elegant water gathering technique. Back in 2012, US start-up NBD Nano announced that it had copied the insect’s ability to develop a self-filling water bottle.

Ceiling-Mounted Fire Safety System

Tue, 02 Feb 2016 00:00:00 Z

A fire-suppression system that automatically detects a fire and then releases a non-toxic suppressant could help alleviate the thousands of cooking fires identified as the leading cause of home fires in the US and elsewhere. Unlike other automatic systems that rely on water, toxic suppressants or aerosols, the Haven system uses a dry chemical suppressant that is automatically triggered when it detects heat of 135º F (57º C) rather than smoke.

Each Haven unit consists of a single cylinder of suppressant attached to a sensor and a cover that looks like a standard in-ceiling smoke detector. Ceiling installation is said to take about five minutes, and the contents of the cylinder are good for up to 10 years. The only element that may need to be replaced before then is the standard 9V battery that powers the LED pressure indicator.

The suppressant inside the Haven is a non-toxic, dry chemical similar to what's used inside a typical fire extinguisher. The company said the difference is that the contents in the Haven are 90 percent suppressant and 10 percent filler, whereas most fire extinguishers are 60 percent suppressant and 40 percent filler. The suppressant can cause a slight eye and lung irritation, but neither are permanent.

The company recommends installing the Haven within four feet ( 1.2 meters) of a potential fire source like a kitchen stove or oven. Tests have reportedly proven the Haven device can suppress or extinguish a fire in a room as large as 16 by 16 feet (4.9 by 4.9 meters).

Unlike automatic sprinkler systems that can cause water damage and leave an expensive clean-up situation, the contents of the Haven can be cleaned up with a regular vacuum cleaner. If the contents are released or the pressure lessens over time, as indicated when the LED light flashes, the unit can be recharged for less than the cost of a new one.

Fire-Resistant Concrete

Fri, 08 Jan 2016 00:00:00 Z

By cutting construction time, requiring less equipment and making less noise, self-compacting concrete has a number of benefits over conventional vibrated concrete. But where it falls down is resistance to fire which results in flaking and splitting. Scientists have now found a way to overcome this, by doping the concrete mix with a special polymer that they say better equips it to withstand high temperatures and in turn, maintain the integrity of a structure.

While it doesn't burn in the conventional sense, concrete chips and flakes when exposed to fire, for the same reasons that firewood crackles. Water trapped inside the material vaporizes when subjected to high temperatures, which builds pressure within and causes the material to degrade with splits, chips and flakes. This matters little when all you need is to keep warm, but is cause for concern when we're talking about ceilings, walls and load-bearing pillars.

This problem can be avoided with normal vibrated concrete by adding polypropylene (PP) fiber to the mix. When exposed to high temperatures, these fibers melt away and leave a network of canals for the water vapor to escape, a neat little trick that prevents pressure from building inside. But adding PP fibers to self-compacting concrete impacts its ability to self-compact, so the amount of PP fibers must therefore be kept low, leaving a wonder concrete that is both self-compacting and fire-resistant so far out of reach.

Now scientists at the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (EMPA) say they have found a solution. They made a series of thin concrete walls, all of which were mixed with polypropylene fiber but only some of which contained a synthetic material called super absorbing polymer (SAP), which is able to absorb many times its own weight in water.

The idea is to soak in water the SAP beforehand and cause it to swell up to several times its dry volume. Then as the concrete sets, the water is drawn out of the SAP through the porous cement matrix which then causes the SAP to shrink, leaving behind hollow spaces inside. These spaces then link up with the other hollow spaces inside the concrete left behind by the few melted PP fibers that were in the mix, again creating a network of canals that enable it to withstand intense heat.

De-Icing Asphalt

Mon, 21 Dec 2015 00:00:00 Z

Living someplace that gets snow in the winter may have its perks, but the ice-melting salt that's spread on the roads isn't one of them. Besides the fact that it gets all over our cars and clothing, it also has to be reapplied throughout the winter, harming the environment in the process. If a new type of asphalt reaches production, however, salt-spreading may become a thing of the past.

Led by Dr. Seda Kizilel, a team of scientists at Turkey's Koc University mixed the salt potassium formate with a hydrophobic (water-repelling) polymer known as styrene-butadiene-styrene. That mixture was in turn added to bitumen, which is the main binding ingredient in asphalt. The resulting composite material was found to be just as tough as regular bitumen, yet its salt content "significantly delayed" the formation of ice on its surface.

In lab tests, it continued to release salt for a period of two months, still melting ice as it did so. The effect could reportedly last for much longer on an actual road, however. This would be because as the top layer of salt-depleted asphalt was worn away by traffic, fresh "salty" asphalt would be exposed from beneath.

With this in mind, the researchers believe that the salt-polymer composite asphalt could remain active for years. A paper on their research was recently published in the journal Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research.

GPS Switches To Child's Voice Around Schools

Thu, 27 Aug 2015 00:00:00 Z

Forsman & Bodenfors has found a clever way to insert a safety feature into GPS satellite navigation: Have the app switch to a child's voice near schools, day-care centers and other areas where children are likely to be present.

The video explains the "Slow Down GPS" app, which F&B—the Swedish agency best known for its "Epic Split" ad with Jean-Claude Van Damme—created for If Insurance. "We think of it as a subtle audio sign that says, 'Children at play,' " the agency explains.

Nearly a year in the making, the child-voice navigation feature is available in Sweden, Finland and Norway so far. The first version of the app comes loaded with the GPS locations for all schools and day-care centers in the Nordic region. A crowdsourcing section on the If website asks the public to add more locations.

The app is available now for free download in the App Store and on Google Play.

Brakelight Illuminates When Cyclists Slow Down

Thu, 13 Aug 2015 00:00:00 Z

The Sigma Brakelight will illuminate automatically when a cyclist squeezes the brakes, making the rider more visible while alerting following vehicles.

Claimed to be compatible with any bike with a cable-activated rear brake, the Brakelight attaches to the rear brake cable, between the calipers, with a standard Allen wrench. When the calipers squeeze together to begin the braking action, the Brakelight’s red LED will illuminate and signal the rider’s intention.

Steering Wheel Detects Drowsiness

Tue, 14 Jul 2015 00:00:00 Z

We've already seen systems that detect driver fatigue via steering wheel movements or by analyzing drivers' faces. German engineering firm Hoffman and Krippner, in cooperation with Guttersberg Consulting, has now developed what its designers believe is a better alternative – a fatigue-sensing steering wheel add-on that tracks the driver's grip.

The technology is based on the fact that when people drive and are reasonably alert, they're constantly applying pressure to the wheel and/or moving their hands along it. If someone should fall asleep, have a heart attack or otherwise lose consciousness, that pressure will lessen and their hands will move less.

The actual device consists of a thin strip of sensors developed by Guttersberg Consulting that is applied to the inside rim of a manufacturer's existing steering wheel, beneath the leather (or other) covering. That "Sensofoil" strip is made up of thin layers of foil, that have a weak electrical current running through them.

When pressure is applied and causes the layers to touch one another, it creates a short circuit between those layers, much in the same way that a resistive touchscreen works. A microprocessor keeps track of the intensity, frequency and location of those shorts, and uses it to establish a typical driving pattern for the user. When they deviate from it significantly, the car will then alert them to wake up and pull over.

Additionally, the system could be programmed to feature up to 10 "hot spots" on the wheel, which the driver could touch to activate features such as entertainment or communications controls.

According to the company, its resistive technology is superior to capacitive systems being developed by other groups in that it's less sensitive to factors such as dirt, sweat and temperature changes; it works even when the driver is wearing gloves; it detects pressure changes incrementally, as opposed to just all or nothing; and, it can register those changes more quickly.

It might be some time before you see it in your car, however. A rep tells us that commercialization is still "years away," and that it will then likely first appear in luxury vehicles before trickling down to lower-priced cars.

New Honeycomb-Inspired Design Protects Against Impacts

Mon, 22 Jun 2015 00:00:00 Z

Conventional honeycomb structures are insular panels of repeating, often hexagonal-shaped cells in a range of sizes and configurations. The shortcoming of conventional honeycombs is that they lose their full protective properties after only one impact due to plastic buckling of the material. This means that after absorbing the force of one compression, they do not return to their original shape.

NS honeycombs, on the other hand, bounce back.

The researchers devised a cell geometry capable of elastic buckling, giving NS honeycomb structures the resilience to recover their energy-absorbing shape and properties after impact.

The cell dimensions can be customized to withstand different amounts of force, translating to a variety of versatile applications. The current 3.5-inch lab prototype, for example, has a force threshold level of 200 newtons -- capable of absorbing the energy of a 100 mph fastball in 0.03 seconds.

Paint Lights Up Cyclists At Night

Wed, 01 Apr 2015 00:00:00 Z

Volvo has long traded on its reputation for passenger safety, but it is also looking out for pedestrians and cyclists. In keeping with this, its newly announced Life Paint is aimed at making cyclists easier to see at night, by acting as an invisible reflective spray that glows under the glare of a car's headlights.

Volvo has teamed up with UK-based ad agency Grey London and Swedish startup Albedo100 to develop the glowing spray paint. While its main intention is to make cyclists more visible be coating their rides and helmets, it could be used by pedestrians and applied to any number of objects – think clothes, prams, dog leads, shoes and bags.

The paint is transparent and is said to make no noticeable difference to the feel of the material, lasting for around a week once applied. From there, once the user moves in front of a car's headlights, the sprayed material instantly turns to a hot white glow to improve visibility.

The question of how cyclists can be made easier to see, particularly at night, has turned up wide-ranging and innovative responses. From LED systems that light up the rims to serve as tail and headlights, to entire bicycle frames that glow in the dark, nervy night time cyclists have a growing number of options to help make them more visible to drivers.

Life Paint, Volvo's answer to this, forms part of its 2020 Vision initiative, a safety campaign promising that by the year 2020, no person will be seriously injured or killed by a new Volvo vehicle. To begin with, free cans of Life Paint will be given away at six bike stores in England. If the product is well received, Volvo plans to eventually make it available internationally.