Skyshield: The Smart Lifeline Keeping Workers Safe From Falls

Working at height has always been one of the most dangerous tasks in construction, maintenance and industrial settings. When someone slips or trips on an elevated platform, the effect of gravity turns a minor stumble into a life-threatening fall.

Noisy machinery, dust-filled air and sprawling work zones can all delay a site manager’s awareness of an accident, and every second counts in getting help to a fallen worker. Traditional systems like guardrails and safety nets help prevent falls, but they can’t guarantee a rapid rescue once a fall has occurred. Shockingly, the lack of awareness may lead a rescue to be delayed by one to two hours.

Blackyak‘s Skyshield steps in exactly at that golden moment. It’s a small, affordable and smart device that clips onto the shock absorber of a worker’s safety belt. If the absorber tears during a fall, a bright red safety pin pops free. As soon as that happens, Skyshield uses a smartphone app to send GPS coordinates to designated emergency contacts. At the same time, it emits a 100 decibel ultrasonic beacon so rescuers can home in on the precise location, even in GPS-unstable environments like tunnels or dense city sites.

For reference, 100 db is extremely noisy – the equivalent of a helicopter flying close. A police siren is 120db, that’s why Skyshield uses an ultrasonic frequency, so the phone’s app can pick up the sound but it won’t startle workers.

Under the hood, Skyshield is built around three key technologies. First, it leverages GPS transmission over a low-power radio link to push location data instantly. Second, it integrates a 100 dB ultrasonic beacon that cuts through ambient noise for close-range detection. Finally, the device meets military-grade durability standards (MIL-STD-810), ensuring reliable operation from –20 °C up to +60 °C. All of this runs on just two AAA batteries, giving up to two months of standby time between inspections

Before Skyshield, most sites relied on one of four fall-protection methods: guardrails, fall restraint, fall arrest, and safety nets. Guardrails create a simple physical barrier at edges, but they only work where solid structures can be installed. Fall-restraint systems use harnesses and lanyards to keep workers from reaching a danger zone, while fall-arrest systems—like personal fall arrest systems (PFAS)—catch a worker mid-fall with a body harness and deceleration device. Safety nets can catch a falling worker, but they require precise installation and only protect within a fixed zone. None of these systems provides instant alerts or precise, automated rescue guidance once a fall has occurred.

Blackyak, the company behind Skyshield, traces its roots to BLACKYAK’s founding in 1973, when it began making functional outdoor gear. Combining decades of rugged-equipment expertise with a focus on industrial safety, Blackyak I&C has grown into a leader in safety footwear, workwear and now smart PPE. Their premium “BLACKYAK WORKWEAR” line and casual “WORXONE” brand have driven strong domestic growth, and the company’s R&D investments reflect a broader vision: turning standalone safety products into an interconnected Personal Protective Platform.

Building on its domestic success, Blackyak is now preparing to introduce Skyshield across key international markets. The company plans to roll out its solution in Japan, where stringent safety standards require the highest levels of fall protection, and in Vietnam, tapping into a rapidly growing construction sector that is hungry for smarter PPE solutions.

In the Middle East, Blackyak I&C will serve large industrial and oil and gas projects with its rugged expertise. Meanwhile, launches in the United States and across Europe will align Skyshield with evolving OSHA regulations and new EU directives, ensuring that workers worldwide benefit from its real-time alerting and rapid rescue capabilities.

With safety regulations tightening worldwide, Skyshield has an opportunity to become a global player. Its ability to retrofit many third-party safety vests means it can be adopted quickly, and its data-driven rescue alerts align perfectly with regulations that now favor smart, connected safety solutions. As more countries push for real-time monitoring and faster emergency response, Skyshield could turn every high-risk site into a connected, life-saving network.

The company will attend CES 2026 to promote and demonstrate this product. That event is an ideal global stage for a company with global potential and ambitions.

Filed in General. Read more about CES, IoT (Internet of Things), Korea and Safety.