SAE International Wireless Acceleration and Impact Recording Chips 2008-01-2979

This paper presents an overview of a new class of wireless acceleration sensor chips being developed by Evigia Systems and Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) that can record the magnitude and duration of exposure to external impact without requiring any battery or any other external power source. The combination of the magnitude and duration of the acceleration event provides the information needed for quantification of the impact energy after extracting the recorded data from the sensor array. The light-weight, small form-factor, and wireless link features of these chips enables them to be readily inserted in earplugs, helmets, protective gear, on sections of vehicles. Further, their low cost, make them well suited for the Go-Kart, Sprint Car, Rally and Motocross races where the budgets are lower than IRL or NASCAR.