Engineering a Soft Landing describes an airbag for motorcyclists:
Takeuchi’s company built its first prototype jacket in 1996. Like eventual production versions, it had an airbag inside that inflated automatically when a pin connecting the jacket to the bike was forcefully pulled from its socket. (A one-touch release button allows riders to get off their bikes without inflating the bags.)But when Takeuchi took his invention to motorcycle shows in Tokyo and Osaka, bike manufacturers shunned him. ‘They thought the jacket would remind people that riding a motorcycle was dangerous,’ he says.
The Payoff: Undeterred, Takeuchi began selling the jackets in Japan in 1999 under the name Eggparka; in 2001 he relaunched the brand as Hit-Air. Today, Mugen Denko sells 16 styles of airbag-equipped motorcycle jackets and vests for about $270 apiece in Asia, Australia, Europe, and South America. (Product liability laws have been an obstacle in the United States.)