 |
North Face (Or Snow Crash?) Avalanche Airbag Clothing
This Powder Guide ABS vest developed by The North Face is perfect for any occasion - well, any occasion in which high impact collisions are imminent. Front and back airbags are deployed, using an integrated nitrogen-based airbag system from German manufacturer ABS.
(Powder Guide ABS vest from The North Face)
Note that the surface area of the vest is increased when inflated, to help skiers stay on top of the snow during an avalanche.
Fans of Snow Crash, the 1992 novel by Neal Stephenson recall the airbag jacket used by Deliverators everywhere:
She lets go of the handle and goes into free fall.At the same time, she jerks the manual release on her cervical collar and goes into full Michelin Man mode as tiny gas cartridges detonate in several strategic locations around her bod. The biggest one goes off like an M-80 at the nape of her neck, unfurling the coverall's collar into a cylindrical gasbag that shoots straight up and encases her entire head...
Via NewIdea; thanks to Jason Barish for the tip on this item.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 2/9/2012)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion (Back On) ( 2 )
Related News Stories - (" Clothing ")
Oceanwings For Underwater Human Flight
'He flexed his legs, the massive flukes thrust back jerkily in response...'- David Brin, 1979.
Sweat Be Gone! Non-Wetting Fabric
'The skin-contact layer is porous.'- Frank Herbert, 1965.
Superomniphobic Fabrics Are Super Clean
'Most gentlemen's and ladies' gloves nowadays were constructed of infinitesimal fabricules that knew how to eject dirt...'- Neal Stephenson, 1995
Sean Jean 'Fashion Video Name Tag' Fleece
Why not a display to go with your sleeve communicator? Murray Leinster would have been down with it.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Current News
Is Noam Chomsky As Paranoid As Philip K. Dick?
'I'm Bill Behren... Operator of fly 33408...'
Low-Cost, Implantable Electronics Get Closer
Better coatings need to become a reality.
'Marauder's Map' Created By Carnegie Melllon
'Is that Dumbledore in his study?'
Cheetah Cub Robot From PKD's Android Dreams
'What about an exact electric duplicate of your cat?'
Dead Cellphone? Try Solar-Powered Public Charging Stations
'Then he saw the geek ... leaning against one of the slender stalks of a sunshade-photocell collector...'
Hungry? Grow Nutritious Insects At Home
'...I balked when my wife served me termites.'
Snowboarding On Mars? Heinlein Was Ready
How long ago did Robert Heinlein write about skiing on dry alien worlds?
Orwell's '1984' Hits Bestseller Lists Thanks To PRISM
'There was of course no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment.'
Roboroach Control? There's An App For That
'A cable, here, from the controller to the interface plug... wires from that to the brain.'
Court OK's DNA Collection Like 'Gattaca'
DNA sampling is not the same as fingerprinting.
Squid Vs. Whale Diorama Liked By Humans, Aliens
'Everything was ready, awaiting the Overlords' pleasure...'
Iceberg Harvesting Off Newfoundland's Coast
'Five hundred billion gallons worth of Antarctic iceberg had been towed into Santa Monica Bay.'
Sony's A4-Sized Flexible Digital Paper Notepad
'...he would plug his foolscap-sized Newspad into the ship's information circuit and scan the latest reports...'
Contact Lens Video Display Electronics Now Transparent
'He realized that it was not quite a clear lens. Speckles of colored brightness swirled and gathered in it...'
Tesla's Supercharge Station Plan
'To recharge the batteries, which can be done in almost every town and village...'
Millimeter-Scale Computing For 'Internet of Things'
'In their megalomania they thought to make the very sand beneath their feet intelligent...'
