- Built-in sensor protects the human body and life by inflating the airbag within 0.2 seconds of detecting fall

- Quickly transmits accidental location and information through BLE, securing golden time

Worldwide, 2.3 million workers each year are suffering from industrial accidents. In the UK in 2018, 47% of the total deaths from industrial accidents were from fall, and 35% of the 855 deaths related to industrial accidents in Korea in 2019 were found to be from fall. Safeware, a manufacturer of wearable airbags for human body protection, develops and supplies “industrial wearable smart airbags” to construction and industrial sites to protect the human body from fall accidents and prevent casualties.

Safeware launched the "Industrial wearable smart airbag" in November last year by applying a sensor algorithm to industrial fall protective clothing designed in the form of an airbag. This product is a safety swing attachment type and a vest type that can be worn comfortably. In the event of an accident, the built-in sensor detects a fall and automatically inflates the airbag within 0.2 seconds. From the fall test, it was found out to reduce the impact of up to 55%. On top of protecting the body, it also uses Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) to automatically transmit tests and emergency calls with the location of the accident so that ambulances can be dispatched quickly.”

The biggest advantage of this product is that when accidents occur, it connects to the smartphone application by BLE to send the information of the accident quickly to the phone number previously registered, securing the golden time for the victim. Safeware was recognized for this technology and was selected as NEXT STARS TOP3, an innovative technology startup selected by IEEE, the largest academic society in the field of electrical and electronic engineering at CES 2020. In Korea, it was designated as an innovation pilot product and an outstanding invention from PPS. It was also designated as an innovative product from outstanding R&D from MSS. These are the proof of recognition of technology and innovation in Korea and abroad.

Currently, the demand for this product is increasing in various industrial occupations related to construction, maintenance, and telecommunications, and orders are increasing in industrial sites of mid-sized companies and large corporations, as well as public institutions such as road construction and railway facility corporations. "We are focusing not only on the domestic market but also on overseas markets, and the overseas markets we plan to enter are European countries such as France, UK, Germany, Austria, the North American market, and various high-end Asian markets," said Shin Hwan-cheol, the CEO of Safeware. He added, "We see companies in various industries such as construction, maintenance, and telecommunications in these countries as potential customers."

In addition to industrial fall protective clothing, Safeware is planning to expand its product lineup by applying wearable smart airbag technology to various fields such as life jackets for bikes in the sports and leisure field, life jackets for horseback riding and water sports, fall protective clothing for the elderly, suffocation prevention airbags for infants and toddlers, and life tubes for drone throwing. For this, it is discussing supply plans through MoU and partnership with domestic and overseas buyers.

The company is developing by upgrading its products to protect the human body in fall accidents and rollover accidents. It is planning to develop the product with the hybrid algorithm that combines fall and rollover by the first half of next year. Safeware has already released a fashionable airbag for bikes. Next year, it is planning to develop and launch the first airbag for the elderly in Korea. In line with the upcoming global 5G era, Shin said he has a roadmap for IoT modularization that can link airbag products with corporate platforms. He said, “In the future, by linking with a private 5G network enterprise monitoring platform and converting the sensor information as data as well, I would like to provide the product that can not only protect but also prevent accidents.”

About the location of the company in Pangyo, Shin said, “We chose Pangyo as the place to be because many IT companies that are related to us are clustered. It is especially very easy to scout outstanding R&D personnel, and we can participate in various governmental support projects.”

(영상 설명 : Smart Industrial harness & Industrial fall-protection gear)