Specialized Launches Crash-Detecting Helmet Tech

Simon Smythe on a motion sensor and app combo that summons help after an accident

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Specialized is claiming to have “transformed the modern helmet into a live tracking device, crash detector, and safety beacon that connects you to help when you need it most.”

The headline new technology, launched this week, is ANGi, which stands for Angular and G-Force indicator, a patented, helmet-mounted sensor that features a built-in accelerometer and gyroscope. It measures the forces transmitted to your helmet during an impact as well as the harmful rotational forces that occur during crashes when there’s no actual impact to the helmet. It will also send a text alert with your GPS location to your emergency contacts telling them you may have been in a crash.

But that’s not all. Up until now Specialized’s helmets haven’t used MIPS protection — the Swedish-developed ‘Multidirectional Impact Protection System’ that literally adds an extra layer of protection — a low-friction, inner liner within the helmet that allows the helmet’s foam liner to rotate independently (by 10-15mm) of the MIPS layer during an angled impact.

Formerly associated with and financed by Giro and Bell, who invested in MIPS technology as far back as 2014, Specialized points out in its press release that “MIPS is a publicly traded company on the Stockholm Stock Exchange. Giro and Bell no longer have ownership.”

All new-for-2019 Specialized helmets will either be equipped with ANGi or will feature an ANGi-ready attachment point, and, in addition, all will be available with MIPS.