Is
your helmet causing subsequent “bad hair days” to you or is it becoming
a burden to carry around. If you answered ‘Yes’ to these questions then
there is a happy news for you. Swedish residents Anna Haupt and her
friend Terese Alstin have invented a breakthrough product. There
invention is a master piece helmet which stays invisible until you need
it. The concept is interesting and the working does not let us down
either. The inventors have named the helmet as ‘Hovding’.
What is it All About?
At
a first glance the helmet looks like a collar around the neck. The
collar accommodates a folded up air bag similar to the ones found in
cars. The helmet incorporates sensors for recording the movements of the
rider and for determining the angular velocity and acceleration during
accidents. This black box type sensor will activate the air bag upon
detecting falls which will inflate with in a fraction of a second to
protect the head. The air bag unfolds into a hood like covering when the
sensors detect abnormal movements on the wearer. The air bag is
inflated by a small gas inflator which fills it with helium.
The
inflator needs to be powered up for functioning. There are LEDs on the
device to tell the user how much power is left in the equipment to work
the inflator. Sounds are included to alert you if the device is powered
on. The hood like ‘Hovding’ helmet uses a micro USB port for charging.
The company claims that the charge will last for about a month during
normal use.
Data
collected by the black box type sensor is stored in the Hovding so that
any concerned authorities or individuals can know the details regarding
the accident from the company. With its efficient design and
functionality, Hovding come across as a very much wearable
gadget. The collar comes along with a removable liner which allows it
to be mixed and matched with your costume. The inventors were motivated
for designing such a product when it was made mandatory for children to
wear helmets in Sweden. Until now the helmet has saved around 20 people
in Sweden who encountered accidents recently.
The helmet is currently available in European countries only, but can be expected to reach more markets in future.
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