Case Studies
Reactive, Human Protection & Safety Systems
Reactive, Human Protection & Safety Systems
Over recent years, the motorsport industry has been looking at how additional safety measures may be implemented that are portable and may reduce the risks of internal injuries. The HANS device which secures the helmet of a driver to his shoulders has been well publicised and many drivers owe their lives to this device. The next logical step is a reactive device that deploys a safety cushion or airbag from the drivers' overalls or motorcycle riders' leathers. It is felt that this type of device, driven by a need from within motorsport has huge potential in a great many other applications.
Motorcycle Rider Airbag
In 2008, Cosworth was asked by AlpineStars S.p.a. to partner in the development of a motorcycle rider protection system for use in the premier motorcycle race series, MotoGP. The brief demanded that an airbag should be deployed automatically from within the riders' leathers immediately after a predetermined sequence of events took place but before impact with a solid surface. Cosworth's task was to provide the necessary electronic control system complete with the software programme to run such a system to trigger an explosive airbag device. The key to success proved to be in understanding the trigger point so that the airbag is deployed correctly prior to impact but not prematurely, which in itself may cause an incident!
Stage 1: Initial Sensing Solution (ISS)
The first stage was to gather information, (data) that could be used to examine the characteristics of a rider falling off a motorcycle that could be used to look for trends or 'signatures' in the behaviour of the rider immediately prior to an accident. This stage was achieved by using a high-value, highly versatile data capture device, (ISS - Initial Sensing Solution) produced by Cosworth that was able to be rapidly re-programmed with algorithms by the user that would look for specific key points in the data.
Stage 2: Secondary Sensing Solution (SSS)
A series of live trials were carried out in which various riders in MotoGP used the 'special suit' over a race weekend and a number of different accidents occurred creating some very useful data. To substantiate these findings, a stunt rider was also hired to fall off a motorcycle under controlled conditions. At this point, data was gathered and trends identified by accelerometers mounted in the legs of the riders' leathers as the first indicators of a problem. Other subsequent signatures were also picked up following those initial findings which were repeatable. This data allowed Cosworth to dispense with the high value system and instead replace it with a lower cost system, (SSS - Secondary Sensing Solution) with a concentrated number of relevant sensors for more wide scale data capture on multiple race suits used by a number of riders in Europe and the US.
Stage 3: Final Sensing Solution (FSS)
The full scale production of a working rider airbag system that could be rolled out to all users of AlpineStars motorcycle race leathers forms the third stage of the programme. The complete system to include battery pack, control unit, gas generator and airbag is installed in the 'Hump' on the rear of the leathers between the shoulder blades.
Conclusions
AlpineStars chose to partner with Cosworth as we have a proven track record for being able to react very quickly to the requirements of a fast moving top-level engineering industry, with a reputation for delivering solutions on-time, within-budget and to specification. The three stages outlined above, may be summarised as follows:
1. Capture the relevant data that could be used to identify what happens immediately prior to a rider falling off a motorcycle and to recognise a sequence of events that may be used for a'control' process.
2. Using only the relevant information (data reduction) from various sensors, produce a control device with associated software which is able to prove the concept in prototype form.
3. Produce the initial production batch of control systems for immediate use in top level, high profile motorsport.
Other Applications
Although this system was born from a desire to enhance safety within motorsport, this type of device has a great many possibilities in military as well as civilian applications. Examples might include human reactive armour against IEDs or other blast protection, or even the protection of occupants in open-topped vehicles in the event of an accident. Civilian applications could include a jacket or vest used by people working at height or in other high risk environments. Once the 'signatures' that identify a particular event are known, the process of developing the software which deploys the airbag is relatively straight forward. This is what makes the device so adaptable to such a broad range of applications. Cosworth are experts not only in the capture of data, but in understanding and interpreting that data so that control may be automated reducing the need for manual intervention.
