- "Skin scene" actor invents a crash alarm
The TV audience knows actor Andreas Maria Schwaiger from many smaller appearances, such as in "Tatort", "SOKO Munich", or "Forsthaus Falkenau" - but he's also successful as an inventor. The Munich native has patented a post that is flexible and yields when a vehicle starts to ram it. Simultaneously, the obstacle rings to immediately warn the person behind the wheel.
"I've always loved tinkering," says Schwaiger. "It started when I was 14 and built my first stereo system, continued with customizing mopeds, and is still evident in my car tuning today." Besides his work in TV ("Hello, Uncle Doc!") and film ("The True Story of Men and Women"), the native Allgäuer studied economics and is active as an entrepreneur.
The 55-year-old now also holds a patent for the ringing post. "I got the idea when a friend told me about the annual billion-dollar damages caused by forklifts in logistics warehouses. Rigid barriers are torn out of the ground and the goods are still damaged. Light barriers fail due to power supply or are sabotaged."
The thought of a ringing post came to him during a hike in the Allgäu. "As I approached an alpine pasture, I was delighted by the sound of cowbells and thought that one likes to be warned like that." The rest was then a technical puzzle with his friends.
Schwaiger's company has already sold over 3000 ringing posts, he says. "There was no mechanical impact protection with up to 60 percent tilt angle and acoustic signal before." Customers include major car manufacturers, a shipping company, and a defense plant. Now, companies from Belgium, Switzerland, Austria - such as Vienna Airport - and Poland are also ordering the ringing posts. Now, Schwaiger wants to conquer the US market. He also continues to stand in front of the camera, recently for the ARD evening series "Watzmann ermittelt".
The flexible post that Anders Schwaiger invented is designed to yield when a vehicle starts to ram it, serving as a warning for the driver. Due to its effectiveness, major car manufacturers and other companies have shown interest in purchasing this innovative vehicle safety device.
