Scaffolders and roofers are always at risk of falling from a great height, even on the best regulated building sites. Stephen Taylor of Walsall, West Midlands, is patenting a device to protect workers that borrows from airbag technology developed for cars (GB 2 312 369).
The worker wears packs on the back and front, containing an airbag, compressed air cylinders and a firing mechanism. The gas is released either by pressing a panic button, or automatically when a tilt sensor makes an electrical circuit. The inflated airbags break the fall and prevent serious injury.
