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Anna Haupt and Terese Alstin's Hövding bicycle helmet blew our minds this morning—it works like an airbag, inflating immediately before impact from a shawl-like collar worn around the neck. The name translates to Chieftan. after the headdress-like form the helmet evokes when open. In our opinion, it's got a fantastic Hussein Chalayan thing going on as well.
You're probably feeling skeptical right about now. Does it open reliably? What happens if you have a hoodie on? Does it provide enough protection? Well, concerning inflation and protection, at least, they've been dilligent, providing the following test video of a 20km collision between a car and a crash test cyclist. We admire that the two have come so far in making this thing real.
In 2005 Anna Haupt and Terese Alstin were industrial design students at Lund University. At the time, a Swedish law had just gone into effect requiring helmets for all cyclists up to age 15, and there was talk of extending the law to cover adults as well. Haupt and Alstin observed that no one was interested in wearing bicycle helmets, and their survey results indicated it was because helmets were seen as bulky, ugly, cumbersome and unstylish, among other reasons.
Haupt and Alstin responded with a weighted collar embedded with movement sensors and a gas generator; the kind of thing design students sketch without having any idea how it might actually work. Kudos to the duo, pictured below, for working it out. After more than five years in the making, their Chieftan concept is now going into production, with a twelve-person company built around it.
Lisa is dedicated to promoting the American contemporary design scene. She keeps herself busy as the co-founder of the Object Design League, an association of independent designers in Chicago, and design practice Smith&Linder, both co-founded with Caroline Linder. She also teaches foundation research studios at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
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Invisible Bike Helmet Inflates Before Impact
If this gets more cyclists properly attired, I see it as a beneficial product..
so it won’t open up after the person will hit the ground?
Nothing will protect you completely unless you seal yourself in a vault with padding. Where's the fun in that?
NT: I don't believe this is intended for motorcycles.
People who bike in the forest should use a helmet for that purpose, just as you wouldn't ride there with a city bike.
People like me, who bike only in the city, care about their appearance and think ordinary "sporty" bike helmets makes you look like wearing an multicolored walnut on your head, (and therefor don't wear them) will use this. I love it.
It's a perfect example of "user-centered design", the opposite attitude of "oh, just use the old one for Christs sake." Making items that fit people, rather than insisting on people to adapt to the old, bad working items.
And horses for courses, if you are riding where there is a likelyhood of low branches, wear a proper helmet.
Lastly, personally, I feel helmets look cool and not "unstylish" Cheers!
To Peter: I think you're making an assumption regarding the trigger method - it looked to me more like the trigger might be more associated with the change in rotation of the sensor perhaps? Though that could also possibly be riddled with problems too! I'm imagining someone leaning down to tuck their shoelace in...
The difference I see here is that in a car, the initial impact in an accident is always to the outside of the vehicle. You can't guarantee that on a bicycle. Even so this device appears to provide protection against the majority of cycling accidents.
Also, what happens if I hit a pothole or jump a curb? Does that just set off the sensors?
I just don't see this working in real life. Just wear helmets people!
Let me be the first to see one going off while worn backwards, please, please!
Now all we need is a visual sound effect to go with it. I suppose it would be something like PAFFF.... But the designers would probably sell more if they designed in a funny noisemaker.
Try repeating the crash test, with the bike rolling, and the front wheel hitting an obstacle, and let us know what happens.
A real hemlet would only work in this situation
I'm not sure if I would trust this product just yet.