STAN the Airbag Backpack Might Look Ridiculous, But It Will Save Your Life in an Accident

That said, appearances should matter only so little when it comes to personal safety. When it comes to making a choice between looking ridiculous for a few minutes and risking death or grave bodily injury, let’s just assume that most people would choose the former. It’s common sense, right?

The STAN airbag backpack is an up-and-coming product from the French company In&Motion. Currently in the final stages of development, it presents as a regular, albeit smaller-size, backpack with an integrated airbag that deploys in under 0.1 seconds and cocoons the wearer in case of an accident and a fall. The idea is definitely not new and has been worked into successful projects for this niche of the market before, but In&Motion says their ultimate goal is to reduce head trauma in case of an accident by as much as 80%.

As our cities grow more crowded and polluted, and the cost of living is rising, we’re seeing more people bike, cycle, or two-wheel their way to work and on their daily errands. With the exception of bikers, few of these commuters use protective gear like helmets for whatever reason – be it that they’re impractical, cumbersome, or not legally mandated.

According to the French company, the issue is compounded with an increased risk for accidents in cyclists, as compared to drivers: cyclists are three times more exposed to the risk of being involved in an accident than while driving a car, and 16 times more likely to be seriously injured when said accident occurs. If wearing a helmet is not viable, regardless of the reason, maybe a backpack will do.

This is STAN. In its natural state, STAN is a backpack that you can wear on the daily: it’s waterproof and has a streamlined, rather elegant design. With a capacity of 18 liters (0.63 cubic feet), it’s not large enough to allow you to cram your weekly groceries inside, but you can still carry a laptop and other devices you might need for work.

In its worst-case-scenario state, STAN becomes an airbag. A separate section of the backpack contains an airbag that deploys in case of a fall, developing into a seahorse shape that cocoons the wearer and protects four vital areas: the head, the spine, the thorax, and the neck.

It takes less than 0.1 seconds to save a life, the company says, because that’s how fast the airbag deploys. Compared to a helmet, which only protects the head in such a situation, STAN offers increased protection by cushioning the entire upper part of the body in a fall.

STAN is also smart, so it’s able to alert the authorities in case you’re in an accident. The backpack integrates a 24/7 assistance system that pairs with the My In&box mobile app on the phone and detects the accident, immediately placing a call to emergency services. If need be, it can also direct them straight to your GPS location, which would come in very handy if the accident occurred in a more remote location with no one around to help.

“STAN, a backpack for cyclists, simple and elegant, usable on a daily basis like any other backpack... with the difference that it integrates the In&Motion airbag technology,” the company says of the product. STAN the backpack moonlights as this ridiculous-looking airbag that might just save your life one day.

No pricing for STAN is offered in the official description, presumably because it’s yet to reach the final stage of development. No availability date has been announced either, but In&Motion are asking potential customers to register on the website if they’d be interested in finding out more about it or even trying it out.