Is This Inflatable Helmet the 'World's Safest'?

edited 7:37AM in creations

Designing safer streets and practicing more mindful driving are the most important factors in preventing cycling accidents, but innovations in helmet design—especially helmets that people actually want to wear—are still a big deal. When the marshmallowy, inflatable Hövding helmet came out on the European market in 2016, many would have called it implausible. The company claimed the head-airbag was up to eight times safer than conventional helmets, but with a steep $600 price tag, there was reason to be skeptical.



Safety tests were carried out at Stanford University. Although this video is from 2016 and may be a bit outdated, it'll give you a sense of their process.

image

"For the development of Hövding 3, we collected more data than ever on cycle movements and accidents for the algorithm," the company said in a press statement. "This included staging more than 3,000 accidents with stuntmen and collecting data on over 2,000 hours of standard cycling. When Hövding has been activated, it registers movements 200 times a second. In an accident, the airbag is inflated in 0.1 seconds to enclose the head and hold the cyclist's neck in place."

In the years since it launched, Hövding has been used by around 185,000 cyclists and over 4,000 have reported being successfully protected in an accident by the airbag.

"Cycling may be the answer to many of the challenges relating to the environment, congestion in cities, and health, and we want to take cyclist protection to the next level. We know that safety means more than just reactive protection. We need to be proactive to improve accident statistics," Hövding CEO Fredrik Carling said.

There are some clear drawbacks to factor in, like the fact that it can only deploy once and then you'd have to buy a new one. But the research looks promising and it raises important questions about the links between wearability and safety. What do you all think? Yea or nay?




Source: 0001617f-0000-0000-0000-000000000000
Sign In or Register to comment.