Motorcycle accidents in Kenya are on the increase, with most ending in death or severe injuries. In a bid to reduce these accidents, Charles Muchene – an engineering graduate and his older brother Michael Gathogo have come up with the first ever smart motorcycle jacket.
The jacket is a lot like the normal luminous jackets cyclers wear, only that it has light emitting diodes (LEDs) at the back. When the cycler turns left, some signals are automatically transmitted to the jacket’s receiver, prompting the leds to light up indicating a left signal. When the cycler opts to turn right, the jackets indicates right. The smart jacket also indicates when the cycler breaks.
Cyclists do not have to worry about wires crossing through their bodies, as the jacket is totally wireless.
The jacket come in two versions; Basic, retailing at ksh 1500 and Lite, currently going for ksh 3, 500.
“The cost of the jackets might go down once we start mass production and we are able to get even better and more affordable components from the external markets,” Joseph told Business Daily.
The jacket’s components are waterproof, insulating it from the changing weather. “At the moment we have made the system in such a way that the lights are waterproof. We want to do the same to the jacket so that the boda boda riders do not get soaked and opt to remove the jackets when it rains,” Muchene explained.
This new innovation will surely go a long way to reduce boda boda accidents.
