DAINESE D-AIR® RACING
-Dainese is proud to present D-air® Racing, the revolutionary airbag which protects riders during circuit racing.
After more than 10 years of study and experiments, D-Tec® (Dainese Technology Center), the Dainese R&D department, introduced D-air® Racing during trials for the Grand Prix of Valencia 2007 in a totally active mode.
In fact during the 250 cc free-training in Valencia, the D-air® Racing has protected the Dainese rider Marco Simoncelli from the consequences of a bad high-side. In Valencia the D-air® Racing has been also integrated into the suits of 125 cc riders Simone Giorgi e Michael Ranseder: both of these two riders felt down and their D-air® Racing have been exploded protecting them safely.
This new rider protection technology has therefore entered the world of racing with a system which, thanks to the use of airbags, is able to protect the rider's body in areas that conventional protections leave exposed: shoulders, collarbones and neck.
The tests performed at the D-Tec® laboratories, in fact, have proved that the system acts as a much better shock absorber than conventional composite protections, with which, D-air® uses in synergy in order to create a head-to-foot safety system.
The most revolutionary aspect of D-air® Racing is that the entire system is contained in a new and very special attachment on the rider's shoulders and back which takes the place of the traditional "hump".
D-air® Racing works totally independently from the motorcycle and triggers when the rider falls due to sliding of the front (front lowside) or rear (back lowside) wheel or in the event of a highside (see the homepage film of the initial tests conducted using a stuntman at Adria, ed.).
The device is managed by a sophisticated system of accelerometers and rate gyros located inside the hump whose signals are processed by a data interpretation algorithm which decides whether or not to inflate the airbag.
The trigger signal reaches a gas generator which inflates the bag in approximately 40 milliseconds.
Dainese began working on this project in 1996. The development of the hardware systems and decision-making software took three years of hard work, during which an imposing amount of data was collected on racing bike dynamics both in normal trim and during falls. The interpretation of this data made it possible to model the activation algorithm, the real and proper brain of D-air® Racing.
In order to achieve this, Dainese set up a special "Task Force" comprising leading experts in the fields of vehicle dynamics and airbag systems, as well as makers that are particularly sensitive to safety issues.
To develop the project, D-Tec® worked closely with 2D and the MDRG of Departement of Mechanical Innovation at the University of Padova. FIAT Quality, TRW and KTM Racing Team have also acted as consultants.
Thanks to the total absence of any physical connections to the motorcycle, the trigger system, the inflation times and the protected area, D-air® is very different from any other similar system and marks a technological leap in the context of human protection in sport.
D-air® Racing is exclusively dedicated to use on the racing track, whether professional or amateur track riders.
D-Tec® continues to develop the D-air® Street project, designed to protect motorcyclists on normal roads.
Dainese D-air®, air technology.