RESERO
product from scratch to a prestigious international award

Task

To develop from scratch a device that allows you to get rid of the snowboard in an emergency situation when an avalanche is approaching.
Avalanche Safety Devices can save a freerider’s life.
There are special backpacks that are able to inflate and lift the athlete over the avalanche.
But there is a weak point in such a system – it’s a board or skis.
Skis or snowboards become an anchor, which pulls the athlete under the snow, and the snowboarder does not have time to detach the equipment.
The task of our solution is to eject the board at the same time with the operation of the avalanche airbag backpack.

Problem

No analogues, no understanding of how the device should operate

Solution

When the device is a new one, it’s a good idea to start by developing a device circuit diagram. At this stage, we determine which components will be used in the device and how it will function. We discuss ideas together with the customer. Thus, the customer is inside the project and can plan to engage outside specialists, if necessary. We are usually talking about electronics and software developers. At the same stage, the materials and technologies to be used can be pre-assessed. The way of board detachment is of vital importance in Resero project.
We have been considering a lot of options: pyrotechnic squibs, compressed gas and electromagnet. The choice was made on the pyrotechnic squib as the lightest, most reliable and powerful variant.
The next step is to test the efficiency of the idea. The team can encounter a lot of difficulties here. In our case, these difficulties have arisen with the purchase of pyrotechnic squibs for testing, as this requires a special permit.
Together with the first tests, the device size is determined, power calculations are made, the viability of the idea as a whole is checked, as well as the work of materials in different conditions. We tested pyrotechnic squibs after the freezing. At this stage, the development of design is still far away, but here we need to consider the future product cost. Materials and manufacturing technology are important. Some components can only withstand the stresses, if made of metal, and it is possible to save on some components by making them of plastic.

Field tests were conducted in the area of Krasnaya Polyana in Sochi.
Artificial avalanche triggering was arranged to carry out tests. Mannequins were used imitating athletes. It was only after we were convinced that the device worked that we moved on to work on ergonomics and aesthetics. The appearance of all elements influences, for example, the device operation speed. The less an athlete has to do to activate the device, the more likely he/she is to be saved.
We have written a detailed scenario of the device usage, coordinating it with the users. Our main expert was Xavier de Le Rue, who is a freerider.

Result

In 2017, this project won ISPO AWARD 2017.