Home » WorkAir, Valentino Rossi’s airbag at the service of workers

WorkAir, Valentino Rossi’s airbag at the service of workers

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WorkAir, Valentino Rossi’s airbag at the service of workers

WorkAir is the world‘s first wearable airbag designed for worker protection. It was born from an idea of ​​Lino Dainese, who in 2015, with the creation of the startup D-Air Lab, has decided to go beyond the boundaries of motorcyclingexploring every frontier of personal security.

The heart of the system is its D-air technology, an airbag that combines design, efficiency and electronics. Motorcycling enthusiasts have them already seen at work dozens and dozens of times: a braking at the limit before the curve, the front of the motorcycle losing grip on the asphalt and the rider tumbling away to the gravel; a moment and he is already on his feet, as if nothing had happened. The secret is precisely in the airbag system hidden in the upper part of the suit. WorkAir is a variation of this technologywhich however is aimed at companies and especially workers who carry out risky activities.

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From Rossi’s suit to the WorkAir vest

“The underlying technology has remained similar, and as architecture the concept is that: a accelerometer which evaluates the data of the body in relation to space e algorithms who decide whether to activate the electrical signal that enables the gas generators and therefore the airbag – explained Marco Soliman, marketing manager of D-Air Lab – All the electronics, however, have been re-engineered for the different field of use, the algorithm is totally different for dynamics at stake and finally the boss could only be essential. No compromise on timing: maximum protection in 40 milliseconds “.

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Today’s WorkAir vest is the fruit of the work started in 2016, when Enel expressed the need to increase the protection of workers and maintenance workers. Since then, various prototypes have been made and the final version laid the foundation for today’s universal one. And here is an individual protection device (in siglia, Dpi) certified and capable of protecting both the back and the chest from falls over 120 centimeters in height. A product that it costs 633 euros individually and which is the subject of pilot projects in Tim, Terna, Marcegaglia, the ICM Group and Cube Retail, practically from the communications sector to the energy sector, without counting the industrial and construction sectors.

“We also hired a stuntman for testingexperiencing any type of fall up to 10 meters, obviously with an inflatable mattress on the ground “, added Soliman. It must be considered that the WorkAir alone, worn over work clothing, protects from a minimum height of 1.2 meters and up to 2but beyond these thresholds there is the regulatory obligation of the harness and therefore with the vest you are protected from swinging against structures underlying the work surface.

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Functional design with Dainese genetics

The vest developed by D-Air Lab is already winking at first glance and could be touched resemble leatherette: “I remember Lino Dainese coming to us in the laboratory and saying My name here I won’t put it, if you don’t do it like this to me – the manager of D-Air Lab told us again – In design we must always consider the functionality, but also stimulated acceptability. If the protection is given by what I protect and the number of people involved, with aesthetic beauty I increase the possibilities of use “.

The airbag bag in fact coincides with the vest itself only, instead of tending to inflate in an uncontrolled way as a balloon would, thanks to the stitching of micro-filaments maintains the planar structure. Specifically, the blue part swells, while the black bands in cordura are the contact surfaces for each type of harness. Internally there are also bearings / spacers that facilitate the passage of air.

“It stays flat, so if a part of the airbag gets hit it compresses slightly and the force also dissipates in the surrounding sections“, Soliman specified. This operation takes place on the input of a control unit which is connected to two small tanks of Argon gas, the same as the car curtain airbags. The ergonomics have been treated in every detail: wearing WorkAir you shouldn’t feel any impediment. The total weight is 990 grams (six years ago they were 1.5 kg), while the battery life (rechargeable via Usb-C) is 18 hours.

In practice, the worker wears the vest, approaches the central magnetic straps and adjusts the lateral elastic bands for correct adhesion to the body, then clicks on the front power button and a micro-vibration confirms operation. But how protected will it be? The En-1621 standard provides that in the impact tests the residual force is less than 4.5 kN: “We are at 1.6 kN, about 60% less. We can assure you that WorkAir is pure substance in beautiful shape, ”Soliman told us with satisfaction.

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