Auto Belays have become increasingly popular as the interest in climbing grows and provide a way for climbers to climb without the aid of a human belay partner – belaying is done automatically by a special device. With the number of rock climbing accidents growing in climbing facilities across the country, Nicros is proud to introduce their new patent pending Auto Belay Safety System™ (A.B.S.S.™). This new device provides climbing wall owners and operators a means of monitoring Auto Belay use on a climbing wall since many accidents have occurred due to the climber failing to clip into the Auto Belay.
This innovative new product uses cutting edge technology to determine if a climber is on the wall climbing without being attached to the Auto Belay device. A sensor on the bolt hanger on the wall detects when the auto belay rope is unclipped from the wall. Arrays of sensors detect a climber’s body crossing a pre-determined height. The logic system compares the inputs and determines if the auto belay is still attached to the wall when something crosses the sensor field of view. In this situation, an audible alarm will sound and a light will change color alerting the climber and facility staff. The height at which the activation of the system occurs and the type of alarm that sounds can be customized to fit the facility’s needs.
The regular operation of this unit uses a standard semaphore display system and goes as follows:
1. The climber approaches the wall ready to climb and looks up to observe the status light indicators of the Auto Belay Safety System™. The light is yellow meaning, “Caution! You can boulder but you can’t climb.”
2. The climber unclips the auto belay rope from the wall and simply attaches it to the proper tie in points on their sit harness just as they’ve always done when using an auto belay. The light on the Auto Belay Safety System™ turns green indicating they may begin to climb.
Improper procedure will cause the following to occur instead of #2 above:
2. (Incorrect State) The climber forgets to unclip the auto belay rope from the wall and attach it to their sit harness and climbs anyway. At the pre-determined height the climber’s body interrupts the sensor array and the light turns red and the alarm goes off. This can also send a signal to an optional remote alarm at the front desk if the auto belays are out of sight of the staff. This can be done through a wired connection or wireless communication if the situation calls for it.
If a person boulders above the area that senses the climber, the alarm will go off since the Auto Belay is still attached to the wall. In this way, the Auto Belay Safety System™ acts as a warning system for boulderers who are too high on the wall.
If you need more than the basic system, we will offer an upgraded system as well. The new system will feature upgraded computerized features which can be integrated with other climbing facility programs. The Smart system will be able to integrate into computer networks and is custom programmable to fit any customer needs. For example, this system could include a signal at the front desk or counter which will activate to let every employee know that there is a potential fall hazard in the facility. It could also include items such as a cordless pager alarm, a reporting system that gathers input from several A.B.S.S.™ systems back to a central point (i.e. a front desk or remote station). It can even track and record auto belay usage for preventative maintenance and traffic flow reports. Because it is custom programmable, you can really ask us to make it do anything that you want it to do. Because the Smart system is custom configured to each application, we need to know what you want it to do before we can order the proper parts to create your system. Call for pricing and availability for both of these Auto Belay Safety Systems™ (patent pending).
At Nicros, we think you and your customers make better climbers than craters.
