Airbag helmet

[CopperBrompton]

[media]
]View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVZ0qiA-jBY[/media]


Details: http://www.wired.co....r-airbag-helmet

Looks more cumbersome to wear than a conventional helmet to me, but an interesting idea.

 

[HJ]

For those with money to waste...

 

[buggi]

quite like it. airbags work in cars so why not. and keeps your neck warm too! double bonus

 

[CopperBrompton]

May be one day it could inflate an entire mr Blobby costume for full body protection

There is a jacket version, for use by motorcyclists and horse riders.

 

[Archie_tect]

Much simpler and cheaper to build airbags into the external side door panels and boot/ bonnet of cars which inflate in an accident.
Also the vehicles that cause the damage/ injury are then the ones that provide the protection and pay for it. Reduces the risk of injury, especially of children,from vehicle accidents

Why haven't Volvo thought of this already?

 

[Fnaar]

Or, make all cars out of sponge. That way they'll be lighter, too, and so save on fuel costs

 

[Archie_tect]

Or, make all cars out of sponge. That way they'll be lighter, too, and so save on fuel costs

Excellent idea! ....cake would be even better!

 

[mcainuk]

Excellent idea! ....cake would be even better!

its been done...


[media]http://www.youtube.c...h?v=WhfEGKc7PLQ[/media]

 

[CopperBrompton]

Much simpler and cheaper to build airbags into the external side door panels and boot/ bonnet of cars which inflate in an accident.

Both BMW and Mercedes have experimented with this idea. The difficulty is that, to be effective, an airbag needs to inflate prior to impact, so that means sensors which can tell when something is about to make contact, and doing that reliably and safely is actually very difficult.

Picture a car moving in stop-start traffic at 5mph while a cyclist filters past at 20mph. Then the cyclist swerves to avoid a pothole in such a way that that they are heading towards the side of the car and will come close to it. You don't want the sensors mistaking that for an impending collision, firing the airbags and sending the cyclist flying.

There are quite a few situations like this when trying to anticipate a collision could actually cause one.

 

[Noodley]

There is a jacket version, for use by motorcyclists and horse riders.

A few horse riders have activated the jackets when dismounting, having forgotten to unattach the 'ripcord'

 

[Smokin Joe]

A few horse riders have activated the jackets when dismounting, having forgotten to unattach the 'ripcord'

I'd give myself a maximum of three careful dismounts before I forgot.

 

[buggi]

what is the trigger for this going off? i can't see a rip cord. is it something to do with the angle of the helmet?

 

[Noodley]

what is the trigger for this going off? i can't see a rip cord. is it something to do with the angle of the helmet?

You have to shout 'eeek!'

 

[CopperBrompton]

what is the trigger for this going off? i can't see a rip cord. is it something to do with the angle of the helmet?

It's apparently pretty complex, based on accelerometers measuring both the angle of the rider and the speed with which that angle is attained. They say it was pretty difficult to devise formulae to distinguish between, say, going over the bars and reaching down to adjust a pedal clip.

 

[CopperBrompton]

You have to shout 'eeek!'

That could be a good approach for the MkII version. You could have scaled levels of deployment for "Eeek!", "Sh*t!", "F*ck!" and "OMG I'M GOING TO DIEEEEEEEEEEE!".