SafeSlope Belt
Skiing and snowboarding have always been my escape, but for my mom and grandma, the slopes represented fear. They both said that if they ever fell, they would never get back up. I wanted to change that by building something that made the sport I love safer and more welcoming for everyone.
That motivation led to SafeSlope, a wearable impact-detection belt designed to monitor falls and alert emergency contacts in real time. The device uses an inertial measurement unit (IMU) that tracks acceleration, rotation, and orientation to identify sudden deceleration patterns consistent with a crash. The sensor data is processed by a microcontroller embedded in the belt, which runs a trained machine learning model to distinguish between normal motion and dangerous impacts.
When a fall is detected, the system transmits an alert with GPS coordinates through a wireless module to a connected smartphone app. The hardware is built into a lightweight, weather-resistant belt housing, designed for comfort under ski gear. The firmware was written to ensure low-latency signal processing and minimal power consumption, while the companion app visualizes real-time movement and logs impact data.
When a fall is detected, the system transmits an alert with GPS coordinates through a wireless module to a connected smartphone app. The hardware is built into a lightweight, weather-resistant belt housing, designed for comfort under ski gear. The firmware was written to ensure low-latency signal processing and minimal power consumption, while the companion app visualizes real-time movement and logs impact data.
Testing the prototype on the slopes proved that the concept worked. It could accurately recognize falls while ignoring regular turns and jumps. More importantly, it gave my family peace of mind. For the first time, my mom and grandma said they might actually try skiing.
SafeSlope turned a personal problem into an engineering solution. It combined my interest in embedded systems, data analytics, and human-centered design with my love for the outdoors. Most of all, it showed me that technology can do more than measure performance, it can make experiences safer, more inclusive, and worth sharing.
