Many Portuguese people already know Help Flash, as its characteristics are how it contributes to road safety. Or that most will not know how the idea of a device that allows drivers to avoid leaving two vehicles without reporting an incident arose.
Like all stories about a “brilliant” idea, this one is also long, full of voltas, revolts, anedotas and nights without sleeping. Today we decided to shed some light on the birth of Help Flash, as V16 was created in Galiza.
As ideas are like cerejas, a leva à outra
It often happens that the seeds of great inventions are born from an attempt to solve a problem other than the one that they end up solving. Something similar happened to the birth of Help Flash. Inspiration came to Jorge Torre, creator of two V16 devices, when he repaired decharacterized police cars. In case of emergency, officers must place a light on the roof of the vehicle to identify you as a security force in this case. One of the main disadvantages of this device is that it needs to be linked to the car isqueiro.
Another big problem with this emergency light was the fact that it activates automatically and immediately when linked to the ischeiro, or that it could inadvertently chain the occupants of the vehicle or, in other words, cause reduced visibility for a few minutes.
To detect these problems, Jorge Torre helped devise a system that would allow the police to signal your presence more conveniently and quickly. And after you see what revolutionized everything: and can all your cars have a similar light for emergency situations? At the end of the 90s, signal triangles became mandatory and the number of accidents caused by leaving the car, riding the triangle and walking dozens of meters to get on the road became an alarming reality.
Or what could replace the emergency triangles?
We all know from personal experience or from just imagining the situation: correctly placing the emergency triangles has never been an easy task. Even less on highways, intersections, tunnels, bridges, roundabouts or if the driver has mobility problems. If you are not aware of the problem of a breakdown or accident, there is still a need to remove the vehicle and for its safety in risk.
It was thus that Jorge Torre concretized the idea of a luminous device similar to the one used in security forces cars. To unwrap it, it would be necessary to modify the sequence in the flash, remove the cable and replace it with an autonomous feeding system, develop a fixation system for metal areas that resist the elements and design a device that is intuitive, easy to use, autonomous, compact and small enough to be transported without the glass holder on the car itself. great bike!
Development of V16 lights: what features should it have?
But this device, which has altered road regulations in Spain and improved road safety, was not planned on a single day.
"In truth, it has been several years of dedication to developing a viable solution," explains the author, "combining and adapting existing solutions on the market, independently researching the LED solutions that will emerge, meanwhile, and other electronic solutions to obtain maximum efficiency from all of them." existing technologies through a simple battery". These are the conclusions that Torre draws on the characteristics that a new signaling device must have.
- Intended for common drivers. The luminous device must be easy to use, so that it can be activated intuitively in an emergency situation.
- Automatic activation by contact. Jorge Torre is aware that "the solution for automation was, necessarily, involving magnetic forces in a constant, more intense, balanced way", which excludes a switch and opts for automatic activation without contact with a metal surface. What is the ideal location for your installation? The roof of the vehicle, once it did not only prevent the driver from leaving himself and removing the safety belt, as well as ensuring low visibility, because it was the highest point where it could be placed. Torre's research on magnetic technology led to the development of the world's first fully automatic magnetic induction actuator, whose first version was patented in Spain in 2005, rather than in new formats and many more evolved in the form of complex magnetic connectivity devices with multiple technological applications.
- Autonomy and reconhecível luminosity. For Jorge Torre, it was also clear that the device he conceived has to emit a light that can be seen at a great distance, be recognizable and not depend on the state of the vehicle itself to guarantee automatic activation. In parallel with the research of the new device, LED technology was also evolving exponentially.
Evolution of the V16 device: from the first prototypes to the final version
Finding the Help Flash devices that we all know was a long road that required a lot of technological research and, like all inventions, many tests, attempts and errors.
- 1998 - 2001. The initial model was launched in 1998 and in 2001 the prototype emerged to test light power, climate resistance and magnetic induction efficiency. It produces very innovative products, which tend to be subject to current loads and voltages much higher than those indicated by the manufacturer. In 2001, Jorge Torre explained the progress of two first prototypes in the following way: "the result of minimal research allowed the use of a conventional LED light source, just through power from a 9-volt battery, or equivalent to the luminous power of a car."
- 2009. The first prototypes of sensors and lights were developed using recycled parts and components with the help of the Galician Automotive Technology Center (CTAG). The first series of the Help Flash emergency signal lamp was a rudimentary element, but small enough to fit in the glass holder. As Torre says: "The LED manufacturer itself could not prove the intensity of the light that we were able to extract from those small capsules." In 2009, after several years of research, the world's first fully automatic lighting device was born, capable of operating with a commercial battery that provided enough energy to shine without being chained, and which was also capable of being activated upon contact with a metal surface. Several hundred units of this model are produced with a completely manual assembly process and are used to test the harsh conditions of use, assembly and use in different variations of temperature and humidity.
- 2013. A revolutionary innovation was introduced, combining amber and white LEDs with a vast range of dispersion. This was the birth of the first emergency directional device, equipped with a white hemispherical auxiliary lighting, resulting in several hundred rear test units. All this distinguishes it from all other types of signaling currently existing.
- Attach to the final device. After being presented in different scenarios and tested in all types of conditions and by various stakeholders, especially victim associations, the final model of the device that we know as Help Flash was reached. This product included a new technology that allowed it to be activated automatically in two different ways to adapt to ferrous and non-ferrous surfaces, thus minimizing the risk of accidental activation. At the same time, introduced for the first time on the market the concept of a parabolic reflector with dual functionality, an innovation that has been emulated by many signaling devices based on the Help Flash philosophy.
- 2016-2019: first industrial production and homologation. The first consumer industrial production of Help Flash was launched in February 2016 and sold more than 20,000 units. This huge incident between drivers and victim associations was brought to the attention of the Administration itself and ended with the introduction of its official regulation in Spain, in July 2018, as signal V16. It is believed that the technical conditions for its homologation will begin to be defined, in January 2019, by one of the most thorough certification companies in the world, at ApPlus Idiada. Such was the success of Help Flash that the brand established itself as a model for all equipment in its class. Its slogan, #OneLightToSaveLives, is the company's emblem.
- New models. The brand continued to investigate new lines of innovation in road safety, resulting in a second, more advanced version of Help Flash, equipped with automatic telecommunications, a pioneering concept worldwide and approved and patented in 2019. This new device automatically links to the user's phone, contact your insurance company and Provides the driver with all necessary services, including linking to the 112 emergency service, in case of need. This model with geolocation marks a new stage in Spanish road regulation: starting in 2026, all vehicles circulating in Spain must have a device of this type, capable of being linked, by themselves, to the General Traffic Directorate.
On the way to a new era in road safety with Help Flash
In Spain, DGT accident statistics reflect the serious consequences of accidents. While the other numbers of accidents decreased, those related to the exit of the vehicle to place the emergency triangle remained constant. This helped Jorge Torre confirm, once again, at the urging of a new signaling model: "I have been very sure since the beginning that I was not on the right path, these data give me the opportunity to concentrate all my efforts in the right direction."
Currently, the Help Flash brand is created with its strong involvement in the innovation of road safety in Spain and, now, in Portugal, as well as its constant evolution in the development of even more sophisticated equipment adapted to new technologies.
