Since January 1, 2015, skiers have been able to wear an airbag under their suit. On the front of the World Cup, two brands are present and homologated by the FIS: the Italians of Dainese and the French of In&Motion. Between them, they have more than 60 skiers in the World Cup. RTSsport met Pierre-François Tissot, founder of In&Motion at the bottom of the Méribel slopes.
Pierre-François Tissot lives in Annecy but during the Worlds, it is in the family chalet in Méribel that he resides. Managing director of the start-up In&Motion, he, with his partner at the time Valentin Honoré, developed an airbag, or rather a “wearbag”, a system of airbags around the body, to protect skiers in the event of a fall. .
“It looks like a simple vest like that and that’s the point. Any athlete is going to be looking for optimal performance so we need something that’s really easy to use and doesn’t get in the way. Inside, there is a small box which will analyze the movement in real time and which will be able to inflate a pocket around the body to protect the athlete in the event of a fall.“
Accuracy put to the test
Among the first teams to trust the product was the Swiss ski cross team. “It was six years ago“, recalls Pierre-François. “They were the first to introduce this technology and to allow us to improve it since in fact, its strength is that this little box on your back permanently records data. And the more data we have, the more we advance the detection system and make it as precise as possible..”
Because that is the whole point. Have a tool capable of triggering the airbag at the right time. “We have a certain number of sensors which will analyze the position of the skier in real time 1000 times per second and which will compare that to algorithms which we have developed. The goal is precisely to be able to know if the situation is normal or if we are in a risky situation.“
And to remember an unusual episode. “We had some very funny situations like this ski cross athlete who jumped a little too far, his airbag inflated and he still won gold. That’s a beautiful story“, he smiles.
Méribel, Floriane Galaud (journalist) & Raphaël Fol (cameraman)
An investment that has a cost
Currently, nearly half of World Cup athletes, both men and women, wear an aribag. This represents around 60 athletes, including the Swiss Justin Murisier and Loic Meillard. As for the price of this little technological gem, Pierre-François Tissot estimates it at 1000 euros.
The Worlds program
ME 15.02: Men’s and women’s parallels in Méribel (12:00 p.m.).
TH 16.02: giant ladies in Méribel (10 am/1.30 pm).
FRI 17.02: giant gentlemen in Courchevel (10 a.m. / 1.30 p.m.).
SA 18.02: ladies’ slalom in Méribel (10 a.m./1.30 p.m.).
SUN 19.02: men’s slalom in Courchevel (10 a.m./1.30 p.m.).
The selection of Swiss-Ski
Dames (10): Aline Danioth, Andrea Ellenberger, Jasmine Flury, Michelle Gisin, Lara Gut-Behrami, Joana Hählen, Wendy Holdener, Priska Nufer, Camille Rast, Corinne Suter.