London (PTI): Worried about your elderly parents falling over? Here's some good news -- scientists have developed a 'human airbag' to solve the problem.

A team in Japan has invented the bizarre human airbag, which is a sensor-fitted vest that can be strapped round the wearer's waist, and this actually detects whether that person is taking a tumble.

According to the scientists, within 0.1 seconds, the vest inflates each of the two airbags to the size of three footballs, thereby providing a soft padding to the back of the head and bottom. However, the 1.1-kg device, made by Japanese firm Prop, does have one or two drawbacks -- it only protects the wearer if he or she falls backwards, not forwards.

In addition, the price -- around 700 pounds -- seems a little-inflated, the Daily Mail reported. The airbag was unveiled at the International Home Care and Rehabilitation Exhibition in Tokyo, where it was displayed by Prop President Mitsuya Uchida.

Around 22 per cent of Japan's population, nearly 30 million people, are over 65. As well as the airbag, recent inventions to assist them include light-up slippers and a kettle that alerts family members if its owner does not make enough tea.