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Dainese has a new multisport jacket out called the Shield Air, and it has a unique search-and-rescue feature built into it that we expect to see more of in off-road motorcycle gear. This handy feature is called Recco Avalanche Rescue System, and what it is is a fiber woven into the jacket that can give the exact position of a person wearing the jacket by using harmonic radar.
The way it works sounds like science fiction: the cuffs of the jacket contain special acoustic fibers that can "reflect" a high-frequency sound to a detector. The concept is similar to the way optical fibers work–filaments of glass carrying data in the form of light pulses–but uses sound instead. Here is a close-up look at the fibers:
A lost or incapacitated motorcyclist wearing this jacket can be found when the fibers in the jacket "reflect" to Recco detectors that have been placed at ski resorts all over the word, with currently 144 locations in North America. The main application for this fiber at the moment is locating avalanche victims buried under snow, but these high-tech fibers are working their way into motorcycle- and mountain-bike gear.
The signal has a range of about 100-200 meters from helicopters, and there's no special washing required, no battery is needed, the material won't interfere with security at airports, and the fibers don't emit any kind of radiation or signal.. they just reflect high-frequency signal of the detector.
The Dainese Shield Air is made from elasticized mesh with a fixed Shield Air 7 back protector. It has CE-rated protection in the shoulders, elbows and chest, and soft padding where needed. It zips closed in the front and, as we describers, the gaiters on the wrist contain the Recco Avalanche Rescue System.
Click here to see the most current list of resorts that utilize the RECCO system.
