Resonar - acoustic safety solutions for motorcycle helmets
Have you ever heard of Binaural Acoustic Technology (BAT) before? Well, either way, it is a term that those concerned with motorcycle helmet safety issues will be hearing a lot more about in the years to come.
Miami, Florida based Felipe Morales, co-founder of Resonar, a new acoustic enhancement system for three-quarter and full-face motorcycle helmets, says that "if we ride with both our eyes open, then why would we choose to ride a motorcycle with both ears closed?"
That is the simple premise that is the foundation on which the Resonar system has been researched and developed.
"Human sensory systems have evolved to provide us with two eyes and two ears to assist us in what is known as proprioception - our sense of self-movement, force and body position and location". Also known kinaesthesia, this is the part kinetics, part auditory perception and part 'GPS for the brain' sensory combination that, simply put, allows us to better understand what is going on around us.
"However, as soon as one of our senses is closed off while riding, like our ears, we lose a significant degree of awareness. Resonar's BAT 8D technology restores the ability to hear hidden threats once again, providing for safer riding conditions on the street," says Morales, "or a more sensitive 'directionality' should one be racing near other racers on a track."
Additionally described as "helmet ears", the batteryless and wireless BAT 8D technology is said to "improve awareness significantly while riding with a helmet covering your ears, allowing you to reconnect with your surrounding riding environment" and allowing a better perception of the 'threat landscape' in which you are riding.
"Helmet innovations like ventilation, communications, dual-density EPS liners, rotational acceleration suppression technologies, fog-free and solar-darkening face shields, and moisture-absorbing liners all vastly improve comfort and protection. Yet, the rider's ears remain covered when wearing three-quarter and full-face helmets.
"The world has overlooked one of our fundamentally necessary senses and its incredible contribution to being more 'connected to', and therefore safer in the constantly changing environment around us as we ride.
"We know that earbuds, headphones and loud music disconnects us from our external environment. Resonar's BAT 8D technology (with no batteries) reconnects us for a more enhanced ride while improving our awareness of peripheral threats without changing or diminishing the protection provided by a certified helmet.
The Resonar team and its associated Binaural Acoustic Technology (BAT 8D) helmet systems are dedicated to improved directional hearing for helmeted users of all kinds, including motorcycle riders, racers, military personnel, aviation pilots and construction workers employed in noisy environments - all situations where improved auditory proprioception and directionality will improve the safety of helmet users.
The globally patented acoustic technology and brands operate without electronic sources or batteries. The technology was first made public at a scientific road safety conference held in Australia in March 2021, and inventor Felipe Morales was invited to participate in the XIV World Conference on Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion, where he presented "Directional Hearing Awareness - a new way to prevent accidents for helmet users".
