Tech Shout!

The year 2002 witnessed 13,900 ATV injuries requiring emergency room treatment, while 76,000 motorcycle-related injuries were recorded in 2004. For a fact, a helmet is synonymous to safety for bike riders and also for people who are engaged in life-threatening activities. For sure, it is one of the best ways of protection for such individuals, but what happens if the damage is done, in spite of the helmet being on. How does one get to know the harmed person’s whereabouts? Perhaps someone sensed the importance of this and devised an amazing technology which can answer this problem.

Brycen Spencer, an engineering student at the University of Massachusetts Amhers, has created a safety helmet that has the ability to save the lives of thousands of outdoor sports lovers who meet with accidents every year. The all-new Wireless Impact Guardian (WIG) signals for help even when the person wearing it is unconscious. This new technology is considered as quite a path-breaking move in helmet safety.

Explaining the use of the WIG, Spencer said, “The WIG will be activated when it is buckled on.” Adding, “If you fall and hit your head, the helmet will detect that and beep for a minute or so. If you don’t turn it off, WIG sends for help, either directly to 911 or to a third-party service that relays the emergency call to 911. Included with the message will be a GPS location giving your geographical coordinates so the emergency team knows precisely where you are.”

Fondly termed as “The OnStar of Helmets,” Spencer’s WIG seems to be like a blessing for motorcyclists, bicyclists, ATV aficionados and others, along with those who carry out expeditions in remote areas.

Currently, though there are various other high-end safety helmets, till now there has not been one in which there phone call for emergency is directed. Spencer has already kicked off a seed-stage business with a business plan that recently won a $1,250 prize from the Executive Summary Competition in the campus’ Technology Innovation Challenge. In the past he has also walked away with the much coveted $1,250 from the Grinspoon Foundation for Entrepreneurship. In addition, he has also invested $2,500 of his own money, in a one-year Provisional Patent that will lead, patent pending, to a 20-year Utility Patent.