WEARABLE AIRBAG DESIGNED TO KEEP ELDERLY SAFE FROM ANY FALLS
Though the risk of a tumble rises with age, a fall can be hazardous at any age. A Chinese company called Suzhou Yidaibao Intelligent Technology Co. has developed a useful device aimed at mitigating the potential harm it may cause. Their inflatable vests and belts, which are based on the same principles as automobile airbags, are intended to protect elderly people from falls.
The crew remembers an agonising period of pain that may have been avoided after they saw an elderly acquaintance fall and break their pelvis in 2014. Given the frequency of falls among the elderly, this motivated them to devise a method of protecting them from harm in the event of one.
They add, "After analysing the data, we found that almost 400 million persons over 65 suffer injuries from falls in our nation." Of that total, 32,000 people lose their lives each year as a result of fall-related injuries. Additionally, fall injuries significantly impair the quality of life for older adults, impacting the lives of the entire family, as they frequently result in infections, pulmonary embolisms, bone fractures, and other issues.
After that, the business worked for five years to realise their concept. In the end, they created a vest that can shield the hips, shoulders, back, and head.
In addition to obtaining the appropriate materials, they developed an algorithm that determines whether a quick movement would cause a fall, guaranteeing that the airbags would activate in milliseconds to provide the user with active protection before the ground is touched.
The system is still being improved because it is difficult to act in such a short amount of time. The deputy manager of the company, Song Zhangxuan, states, "We concentrate on two primary issues."
“One is how to judge an older man's posture in real time, so how to tell when he is about to fall down. The airbag has to pop up before he falls down, so he can be protected by the airbag. The second is how to deflate the airbag within 0.18 seconds. According to our statistics, an old man falls to the ground in 0.3 seconds, so technically the inflation has to complete in 0.18 seconds.”