Alpinestars TechAir5 Airbag

Alpinestars has been redefining protection for motorcyclists since the company was founded in 1963, and Tech-Air® 5, the all-new autonomous motorcycle airbag system, is the latest addition to the family.

Tech-Air® 5 is the latest addition to Alpinestars' Tech-Air® family, which also includes the Tech-Air® Race and Tech-Air® Street systems. Alpinestars continues to set the standard in active airbag technology for rider and passenger, and Tech-Air® 5 is a strong demonstration of Alpinestars' commitment to making the technology freely available on the market as the best possible choice for "active" airbag protection.

Tech-Air® 5 is a slim, self-contained wearable airbag vest that can be worn under any matching textile jacket or Tech-Air® compatible jacket or any leather jacket with 4cm of space around the circumference of the rider's chest. Tech-Air® 5 offers unmatched upper body protection, keeping motorcyclists safe by providing unique coverage to the rider's shoulders, chest, ribs and entire back. Shoulder protection is vital in a road impact and riders' shoulders are effectively and efficiently protected by Tech-Air®, minimizing the risk of shoulder and collarbone injuries. Alpinestars Tech-Air® 5 offers the most comprehensive coverage of any airbag currently available.

Main features:
The state-of-the-art, wearable Tech-Air® 5 vest is equipped with an active electronic system that includes six integrated sensors (3 gyro sensors and 3 accelerometers) and a crash algorithm that uses AI to monitor exactly when to deploy the airbag in the event of an accident. Developed from years of research with over 50% of the world's best MotoGP riders and Alpinestars customers, driving data from millions of kilometers and thousands of crashes has been analyzed to continuously improve the intelligent crash detection algorithm. When an accident situation is detected, a protective airbag is deployed, providing the rider with unmatched protection, with a maximum inflation time of 20 to 40 ms, depending on the volume of the airbag size. The impact absorption when wearing the airbag results in a reduction in impact force of up to 95% compared to passive protection. The Tech-Air® 5 airbag system offers the same protection as 18 back protectors.
The system is also extremely easy to use: just fasten the vest and close the magnetic fastener and you're ready to go. An LED indicator shows the airbag's operating status and the integrated, certified lithium-ion battery has a runtime of 30 hours of driving time. The system is equipped with a magnetic micro-USB charger that allows for quick, easy and convenient charging.
Tech-Air® 5 features Bluetooth connectivity and an associated Tech-Air® app that displays the system's operational status, battery status and detailed analysis of a trip on the driver's phone; the system's firmware can also be updated directly from the app.
Almost 20 years ago, Alpinestars began developing the original Tech-Air® system. When it was launched in 2014, the Tech-Air® system was recognized as the world's first airbag system to offer full upper body protection with a fully independent electronic management system, in addition to the versatility of the vest, which could be easily zipped into a variety of Tech-Air® compatible jackets. In December 2019, Tech-Air® 5 was already recognized by CES as one of the most innovative products in wearables technology.

Story:
A story from Alpinestars Tech-Air®:
2001: The Tech-Air® airbag system project begins.
2004: Alpinestars conducts its first electronic airbag test; at that time with external airbag balloons of 2 x 60 litres. Alpinestars opts for electronic activation of the airbag because the company has analyzed and studied all solutions and has determined that with a mechanical system, activation is not fast enough to guarantee protection from the first impact.
Alpinestars is also starting to collect driving data from professional riders in MotoGP, for example.
2009: Alpinestars introduces Tech-Air® Race in MotoGP.
2011: Tech-Air® Race is integrated into Alpinestars' top leather suit and is available to end customers.
2014: The Tech-Air® Street airbag system is launched at the EICMA show in Milan as a modular, self-contained electronic airbag system that protects the entire upper body on initial impact. Tech-Air® Street is the first system on the market to offer this level of protection. In addition, the system allows the rider to easily switch between Tech-Air® compatible garments and adapt these garments to his/her riding needs and weather conditions.
2016: Tech-Air® Race is launched as a modular system that allows riders to choose not only between a variety of compatible suits and garments, but also between algorithms; riders can switch between race track use and public road use. Tech-Air® Race is the first system on the market to offer this option.
2020: The Tech-Air®5 system is introduced, complementing the Tech-Air® Race and Tech-Air® Street vests in the Alpinestars Tech-Air® product line.


Notes:
The Tech-Air® 5 wearable vest is designed to be worn under any suitable textile jacket, bearing in mind that the jacket must be large enough to accommodate the expansion of the airbag in the event of a fall. For textile jackets, this requires an additional 4cm of space around the circumference of the body. For riders who wish to wear a sport leather jacket, Tech-Air® 5 can also be worn with Tech-Air® compatible leather jackets that have built-in leather expansion panels to accommodate the expansion of the airbag. Riders who wish to wear a leather jacket that is not Tech-Air® compatible must ensure that the leather jacket has an additional 4cm of space around the circumference of the entire chest.
The Tech-Air® 5 airbag system offers the same protection as 18 CE Level 1 back protectors, as confirmed by SGS, an official CE certification company that conducts independent tests for product compliance with European personal protection regulations.
In addition to protected riding during their commute, motorcyclists can now easily switch to RACE riding mode and ride on closed circuits. The newly released Tech-Air® app allows riders to easily switch between STREET and RACE riding modes. RACE riding mode is to be used ONLY for riding on closed circuits and not for any other riding.