Intelligent active protection system for motorcyclists: saving lives through optimum use of latest advances in sensor technologies, wireless communication, Smartphone platforms, real-time analysis.

Project Information

INE IAPS

Grant agreement ID: 673930

DOI

10.3030/673930

Project closed

EC signature date 22 April 2015

Start date 1 May 2015

End date 31 October 2015

Funded under

• INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies - Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)

Total cost

€ 71 429,00

EU contribution

€ 50 000,00

Coordinated by

IN&MOTION
France

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - INE IAPS (Intelligent active protection system for motorcyclists: saving lives through optimum use of latest advances in sensor technologies, wireless communication, Smartphone platforms, real-time analysis.)

Reporting period: 2015-05-01 to 2015-10-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

In&motion has been actively working on the development of protection systems for skiers for over two years, and is now approved by the International Ski Federation. Their intelligent protection solution is used in competition events by several international ski teams. The In&motion technology has been developed as a platform to be adapted in other application such as motorcycling.

Adapting the technology to life-saving non-leisure situations has required the company to proceed with a feasibility study and technical assessment. The project’s work plan consisted of three main work packages:
 Technical and economic feasibility: to quantify the technical challenges to overcome for the integration of In&motion’s technology into motorcycling clothing;
 Business case development: to investigate the functionalities to be made available to the users and assess the ergonomics and reliability constraints for the end product;
 Partnership agreements: to elaborate the business plan with a focus on the distribution model to be adopted.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

In&motion performed a thorough survey of accidentology and traumatology reports available in the literature. This analysis highlighted that the three areas most affected by severe injuries are the thorax, the head and the abdomen.

In&motion collected many hours of data to analyse and characterise the movements of riders to precisely determine crash thresholds and trigger points for airbag deployment. The company designed a ‘library’ for efficiently storing the data collected, and also developed a live data tool to allow them to visualise the data as it was acquired by the on-board devices during the live sessions.

In&motion adapted its ski airbag platform for a motorcycling application, including the selection of the most suitable gas generator and airbag shape that result in a system that inflates in less than 100 milliseconds whilst providing unparalleled protection without compromising on comfort and ergonomics for the user.

From a market perspective, In&motion initiated discussions with various stakeholders including riders, motorcycle constructors, and equipment suppliers.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The work performed has confirmed In&motion’s vision for their innovative intelligent protective system for motorcyclists. The project shall continue into a consolidation phase followed by the implementation and the commercialisation of the product within two years. In&motion will continue its involvement in facilitating improvements in systems, policies, and practices regarding the design and use of personal airbags.

In the near future, additional funding and recruitment will be crucial to support In&motion in its ambition to bring this disruptive innovation to market. Since the begining of the project, the team increased from 3 founders to 8 people, demonstrating In&motion's ability to recruit talents. The target is to continue this recruitment in 2016 in order to become a recognised European leader in the provision of intelligent protection solutions to save lives and limit long-term injuriesin order to support this ambitious developement program.

To support the dissemination of airbag systems in the motorcycling industry, its founders (Valentin HONORE, Pierre-Francois TISSOT, and Rémi THOMAS) are all members of the standards commission’s work group setup to elaborate verification procedures for airbags used in clothing. They are also recognised experts working on the industry-wide approval of the EN 1621-4 discussion.

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