These airbags are designed to protect your hips in case of a fall.
Josh Miller/CNETHip injuries can be deadly, and it takes nothing more than a simple fall to get one. But at a tiny booth at CES in a Mandalay Bay Hotel ballroom, a woman wearing fluorescent airbags around her waist had the answer: the Hip'Air.
The Hip'Air deployed.
HeliteShe was from a French company called Helite that specializes in wearable airbags built into clothes for skiers, motorcyclists and horse riders.
The Hip'Air looks like a fanny pack, but is filled with sensors, a battery, airbags and an air cartridge. When a sensor detects a fall, the airbags deploy to break a person's fall.
The Hip'Air has a battery life of a week and is designed to be reusable.
Hip'Air has been in development for 10 years after one of Helite's founders saw the horrible effects a broken hip had on a relative. The company has been working with nursing homes in France to develop the product.
The Hip'Air will be available in Europe this spring for €600, which converts to $720, £530 and AU920. It will be available in the US starting in the fall.
This fluorescent contraption is Hip’Air by @HeliteOfficial. It’s basically a deployable airbag for your hips to prevent hip injuries. #CNETatCES #CES2018 pic.twitter.com/PybELNb0tp
— Patrick Holland (@trickholland) January 8, 2018
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