Dainese D-Air Racing - The Technology In The Air

The air bag system designed by Dainese - the D-air racing system - was used for the first time ever during the Grand Prix race in Valencia and tested by Marco Simoncelli in 250 cc class, Simone Giorgi and Michi Ranseder in 125 cc class competition.Dainese presents its D-air Racing system, the revolutionary air bag for the protection of competitive racers.

After 10 years of study and testing by D-Tec (Dainese Technology Center), the company's research & development department presented the innovative new D-air Racing system during a Grand Prix race time in entirely operative mode.Another new rider protection technology now enters the world of racing with a system capable of protecting areas of the rider's body that traditional protections always failed to reach before: the shoulders, the collarbone, and the neck, thanks to the unprecedented use of an airbag.

The tests conducted in the D-Tec laboratories document shock absorption values decidedly superior to those offered by traditional composite protections that work in synergy with the D-air system to create a complete head-to-toe protection system.The most revolutionary aspect of the D-air Racing system lies in the fact that the entire system is housed inside a special new appendage mounted on the rider's shoulders and back instead of the classic aerodynamic hump.

The D-air Racing system works without requiring any type of connection to the motorcycle and intervenes whenever the rider makes any of the following types of fall: front low-side, back lowside, and even high-side. The system is managed by a sophisticated system of accelerometers and gyroscopes housed inside the hump; the signals are managed by a data interpretation algorithm that triggers inflation.The trigger signal goes directly to a gas generator that inflates the airbag in 40 milliseconds. Dainese has been developing this project since 1996. The perfection of its decision-making hardware and software alone required three years of hard work also distinguished by the compilation of a truly impressive quantity of data on racing motorcycle dynamics during both normal riding and falls. Our interpretation of these data permitted the modification of the trigger signal algorithm, the D-air Racing system's real "brain".

For the development of the D-air Racing system, Dainese formed a special "Task Force" composed of the best experts in the fields of motor vehicle dynamics and airbag system creation together with constructors particularly aware of the importance of safety.D-Tec also relied on the close collaboration of 2D and the Department of Mechanical Engineering of the University of Padova, while also availing of consultation provided from FIAT Quality Control, TRW, and KTM Racing Team.

The complete absence of fixed connections to the bike, the trigger system, the rapid intervention times, and the areas of the body protected all contribute to making a big difference compared to similar protection systems and signal a "technological leap forward" in providing people with dynamic sports protection. The D-air Racing system has been developed exclusively for on-track use by professional racersor expert amateurs.

D-Tec continues in the development of its D-air Strada Project for the protection of motorcycle riders in intense road traffic.

Dainese D-air, the technology in the air.

Info DAINESE: Dainese Press Office press@dainese.com www.dainese.com Tel. +39 0444 224100