Turn Your Helmet into a Smart Helmet with PhiPAL

New technology is almost always fun, but the new PhiPAL from SAPHIBEAT Technologies could end up being a literal lifesaver for snowmobilers.

PhiPAL is a device that attaches to your helmet using a standard GoPro mount. Once it is mounted, SAPHIBEAT Technologies says it will automatically detect if an accident has occurred and send out a distress message with GPS geo-localization coordinates so people can find you and bring help.

This seems like a brilliant product for snowmobile riders – especially for anybody that goes out on their own (though we don’t recommend that).

PhiPAL’s motion and altimetric sensors register the wearer’s acceleration, position, orientation and altitude using a 10-axis sensor set. Should any drastic change in any of these metrics occur, that is a signal to PhiPAL that an accident has happened. Once this happens, PhiPAL enters a pre-alarm mode and verifies the wearer’s condition. If the wearer does not respond and is deemed unconscious, PhiPAL initiates an alarm procedure and sends out notifications to a pre-selected list of contacts.

In theory, this should result in help getting to an injured rider faster.

SAPHIBEAT Technologies is trying to get funding for the PhiPAL using a KickStarter campaign. For more information, check out the press release below:

SAPHIBEAT Technologies, a Silicon Valley-based startup focused on developing leading-edge technologies for wearable safety devices, today announced the launch of its Kickstarter campaign for PhiPAL. A game-changing adventure monitor that can recognize if the user has suffered a serious accident, PhiPAL is a product platform that uses an activity monitor mounted on a sports helmet. PhiPAL works by providing real-time performance data that can be used for tracking the user and social sharing, and can automatically call for help in the event of an accident, no matter where or when.

PhiPAL was developed by SAPHIBEAT co-founders Carlo Ciaramelletti, a technologist and futurist with a deep understanding of the intersection of technology and business, and Marco Cavalli, an experienced engineer pushing innovation and technology to improve how people live, work and play.

With its proprietary machine-learning algorithm for accident recognition, PhiPAL provides a much-needed solution that can save lives of outdoor enthusiasts by recognizing when an accident has taken place. If the user is unconscious, PhiPAL automatically requests help, contacting teammates and first responders through a cellular phone or satellite connection. In normal mode, PhiPAL can augment the user experience through features such as performance 3D visualization, tracking and challenges.

“Announcing the launch of our Kickstarter campaign today is the culmination of two years of research and development,” said Carlo Ciaramelletti, co-founder. “The idea of PhiPAL came as a result of a ski accident in 2012 when I was skiing in Italy. I was fortunate to make it home safely, but shortly after my accident, another skier crashed in the same area. The day after, he was found dead. No one could find him because nobody knew what happened and where he was. Today we have the technology to make the best use of the ‘golden hour,’ that time after an accident when even one minute can make the difference between a tragedy and just an accident to remember. By changing how we use technology to save people’s lives, we believe that the platform is a valuable companion for any sports activity that requires the use of a helmet.”

Approximately one million people each year are hospitalized as a result of injuries from outdoor sports. Technology has evolved to provide users with a light, portable and enduring solution. PhiPAL is not designed to prevent accidents, but rather, to reduce the risk of an accident from becoming a tragedy, and in today’s world, it has many applications, from the individual sports enthusiast to team sports to first responders. PhiPAL is essentially the GoPro of safety for outdoor sports.

With PhiPAL, users can:

• Automatically contact first responders thought multiple communication channels
• Ensure access to prolonged, sustainable power through advanced power management technologies
• Integrate tracking dynamics to help improve performance
• Log into an Adventure Planner to discover new trails experienced by other outdoor adventurers
• Create and share trails of anticipated routes and send progress notifications to teammates, family and friends
• Fit PhiPAL on multiple outdoor sports helmets

To back SAPHIBEAT on their Kickstarter page: