
Mobile Airbag Deploy When Device Is Dropped - billconan
https://imgur.com/gallery/B5xe3ug
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re
At first glance it looks fairly similar to the diagram in this one:
[https://patents.google.com/patent/US7059182B1/en](https://patents.google.com/patent/US7059182B1/en)

There was also this Bezos patent that made the news a few years back with
actual airbags:
[https://patents.google.com/patent/US20110194230A1/en](https://patents.google.com/patent/US20110194230A1/en)

I'm certainly no patent lawyer and don't have any sense of how different such
a device would have to be to be non-infringing and novel enough to patent. In
any case, congratulations to him for actually building a working prototype.

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mdorazio
Good find on that first patent - it's pretty much exactly the same thing
unless the sensor and control mechanism are somehow quite a bit different. It
wouldn't stop Chinese case manufacturers from making this, but this would make
it pretty difficult to get a new patent for what's shown in the video.

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hughes
This amazing airbag contains neither air nor bags! But I really can't think of
a better, clearer word for it.

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starpilot
Shock absorber? In any case, I'd like to see higher drop tests. Wonder if it
would have helped a week ago, when I dropped my phone while rock climbing and
it shattered on a slab ~150 ft below.

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Piskvorrr
That's probably not a very common occurence - wouldn't a lanyard do a better
job there? (instead of "I dropped it and it landed somewhere in a 100 ft
radius, probably in multiple pieces" it would be "I dropped it and now it
hangs right there, 1 ft away")

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anjc
> That's probably not a very common occurence - wouldn't a lanyard do a better
> job there?

Nope, little plastic arms

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Piskvorrr
I'm not replying to what you think I'm replying. To summarize: little plastic
arms are not useful against dropping a phone from 150 ft. Because: 1. they are
not made to absorb a shock that large, 2. even if, the phone would bounce, 3.
even then, you're looking for a phone in a fairly large area. Easier not to
drop it all of 150 ft in the first place; most people dropping phones do so
from human-comparable heights, and that's where the little plastic arms _are_
useful.

Clearer now?

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philip1209
It would be really awkward if this was in your pocket and you decided to plop
onto a couch

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Ajedi32
That's trivial to fix, just don't activate it when the proximity sensor says
it's still in your pocket.

Though I can imagine some other false positive scenarios; like when you
intentionally toss your phone onto a soft surface like your bed. The added
protection is probably worth the minor inconvenience of having to reset the
mechanism every time that happens though.

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kazinator
The retracted springs take up a ridiculous amount space in the phone's case;
don't expect this in your device any time soon. (By which I mean: ever). A
version for laptops could be fantastic.

The shock absorption capacity is greater than necessary; experience shows that
a simple silicone bumper is effective. The device _can_ take a certain number
of G's; it's not exactly an egg. A bumper also reduces drop incidents by
providing grip. (Aluminum cases can dent through a bumper, though.)

A simple through hole or other means of strap attachment allowing a phone to
be put on a string takes less space. "Bungee cord for your phone!" Cameras
have strap attachments; it didn't catch on for phones due to the obsession
with smooth design, perhaps.

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CodeCube
phone goes in and out of pockets too often for it to be attached by a bungee
cord ... that'll never work either

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kazinator
Cord terminates in or near the pocket. Could be self-retracting onto a little
spring-loaded winch.

People had pocket watches on chains in the Victorian era.

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wyattpeak
This looks very clever, but also like it could take an eye out if it deployed
while the phone was held up to your face (or, indeed, was dropped while held
over your face).

I'm very fond of the concept, but I think the implementation needs a lot of
work.

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Chilinot
It could probably deploy some more "eye friendly" prongs in the future.
Probably some that weren't shaped like knifes.

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JadeNB
> more "eye friendly" prongs

This is a scary collection of words.

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toomanybeersies
This reminds me of the airbag for cyclists that's designed to replace your
helmet:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjygqMULVmw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjygqMULVmw)

It's a cool concept, but at €299 I'd rather just use a normal helmet.

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tobiaswk
It's there to save your life potentially. €299 seems cheap in that regard.

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toomanybeersies
My $50 polystyrene lid does that too.

Regardless, they're not legal in Australia, so even if I wanted to, I couldn't
use one.

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alanfranzoni
What is not legal? Is the helmet mandatory in Australia and airbag is not a
legal replacement, or are head-airbags illegal?

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toomanybeersies
Yep, helmets are mandatory in Australia for all riders, and the airbag isn't
certified as a helmet in Australia.

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alanfranzoni
Are there more, less, or an equal number of bikes around now, after such
legislation was passed?

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pintxo
I am not sure I'd like my phone to do this in my pocket while riding a roller
coaster.

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ajuc
Use light sensor in addition to accelerometer.

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Chilinot
What if you drop it at night?

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Doxin
Phones have pocket detectors already. They use infrared distance sensors
mostly.

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Piskvorrr
...and the complexity increases by orders of magnitude. With all the decision
logic, the added latency might register as "drop...thud...oh hey, weren't we
supposed to deploy something?...legs deploy"

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yathern
I think you grossly overestimate how much latency another variable to the
decision logic would add. Keep in mind that this is computed onboard, not by
bluetooth to the phone or anything. So it can be done by a dedicated chip
checking 100 times a second if accelerator value ~= 0G and a proximity sensor
detects nothing.

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Piskvorrr
The previous comment noted that "phones have [suitable sensors]". Duplicating
those in the board would work, but even then - checking every 10 ms will mean
a far higher battery drain (and yes, we've just complicated everything at
least one order of magnitude, this point still stands).

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nerpderp83
This is an absolutely beautiful solution. Respect.

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exabrial
I initially thought the article was going to describe someone's OnStar caused
the airbags to deploy in their Malibu when they dropped their iPhone.

I was moderately dismayed this was not what happened, but the device is
nevertheless really cool and may have some practical applications.

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martin-adams
It's a really great concept. This would however be quite scary to have
deploying against your face which would be a no-go for me. I do occasionally
drop my phone and the case I have does a good job. What I worry about is
dropping it on a brick or stone where the impact is centered in the middle he
screen.

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swiley
I don’t have a case and have dropped (and thrown) mine. As long as you’re not
throwing it directly into the ground the iPhone is honestly pretty sturdy.

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davedx
6,234,123 shattered iPhone screens and back plates beg to differ

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pthreads
It is cool and possibly quite useful. Definitely a good engineering
challenge/project. Others have already pointed out some safety issues and a
few others have then questioned likely are those scenarios.

For me though one of the big downsides would be while traveling. This thing
would never be allowed through airport security as a carry-on. It looks like
mini knife like objects encased in a soft rubber casing. Yes, one can always
take it off and store it in a checked-in bag. But if you forget then you will
be forced to choose between dumping it or not boarding the flight. Not to
mention the extra cavity search one might get as a bonus.

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Zarath
Nice, now it needs some armor casing and it will be just like a cockroach. My
pocket surveillance device will now be impossible to destroy!

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wafflesraccoon
Everyday I throw my phone onto my bed when I get home, I'm not sure how I feel
about this product.

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bitmapbrother
I thought about a similar solution about a year ago, but mine involved
embedding small spring loaded pins into the front, back and sides of phone
that would pop up when the phone was dropped.

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King-Aaron
> Talking on phone while walking

> Trips over

> Metal spike/pin into temple

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bitmapbrother
Please. The pins would be dull and rounded.

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pravda
I don't get it. Isn't rubberized case a far better solution?

Smaller, lighter, and fewer moving parts.

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earlz
A rubberized case wouldn't protect as much. ie, the phone feels more impact
from a similar fall except for maybe multi-story drops where most cases don't
do anything anyway. Also, this protects the screen from falling onto an uneven
surface (think gravel) whereas a rubber case won't help at all, even if it
includes one of those annoying plastic screen covers

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vinay427
Also, cases without bulky screen protectors can't adequately protect curved
displays, which are increasingly common nowadays, from falls on non-level
surfaces.

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gregmac
It's almost as if that's a stupid design.

Unfortunately, it's the consumer that pays for that, literally, since they'll
have to buy a new phone if it breaks (a win for manufacturer, so long as they
buy the same one anyway).

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al_dent
What problem does this solve? Prevent aluminium dents? I've dropped my
unprotected phone so many times I don't even know how people manage to damage
their screens.

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Roritharr
Well we've been thrown out of the Worldcup as Group Last, but we've at least
got him to come up with a solution to one of the worlds most visible
customerfacing problems in consumer electronics. I'd consider this a
bottomline win for Germany.

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googlemike
How are these even remotely related?

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namibj
Time. It's how we group many information.

