Genius student develops ‘mobile airbag’ that is activated as your phone falls

Airbags for cars are a norm. However, this mechatronics engineering student has invented an airbag for mobile phones. Seems unbelievable? Keep on reading to find out more.

The “mobile airbag” comes out on impact, hence preventing any damage on the phone. A 25-year-old master’s student, Phillip Frenzel, a student at Aalen University, Germany, pitched in the idea after he damaged his phone while it was contained in his jacket, which he threw over the railing. This caused the internal components of the phone to shatter.

Image: AD Case

After the incident, Frenzel felt determined to develop something that would keep phones from breaking after they fell. While, most phones come with protective casings, the inventor believed they were too large and non-compact. Hence, he wanted to create something smaller and more sophisticated. After four years, the “mobile airbag” came into inception. When the phone is in fall, the sensors detect the motion and unravel the “airbag” from the corners of a casing.

Metal springs push out and absorb the impact of the fall, hence protecting the phone and it’s interior. Once the dampers have done their job, the user simply puts them back into position in the casing, ready for use again. Frenzel named the invention an “AD Case”, where AD is “active damping”.

Image: Philip Frenzel/Landesschau Baden-Württemberg

The German Mechatronics Society awarded Frenzel with the national Mechatronics Prize in 2018 for his invention. It has gone so well for him that Frenzel has also registered for a patent so no one could copy his invention. Not only that, he plans to bring the contraption to the market as well and he has also put it up on Kickstarter.

 Let’s see if Frenzel could invent such a device for other fragile components as well.

h/t: Digital Trends

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