'Invisible' bike helmet protects with air-bag shell

5/30/2012 11:52 AM EDT

It is a very interesting technology. What's the weight of the product? Biker always has concerns over weight. ;)

5/30/2012 12:18 PM EDT

Nice technology and an innovative idea...but practically thinking, it doesn't impress me much and I feel this is too much for a helmet. It requires battery as well, correct? or does it use some kind of energy harvesting technology?

5/30/2012 12:35 PM EDT

I LOVE this. Looks awesome. Makes me want a bike. And a helmet.

5/30/2012 12:42 PM EDT

I am wondering if it will really protect a motorcyclist in the event of an accident. Given that we are talking about moving objects (person/bike) hitting the ground or pavement, I must ask: Can the inflated helmet survive the typical abrasive impacts and still protect the head? I would be concerned that it would pop and deflate leaving the head completely unprotected. This would only give a false sense of safety and may hinder real helmets from being worn. I do think it is a neat idea but I would have a lot of questions about effectiveness.

5/30/2012 1:04 PM EDT

For me the bigger concern is the explosive nature of the air-bag collar.

I understand that pilots that have used an injector seat are often not fit for service thereafter and there are anecdotal accounts of automobile passengers with facial brusing and even broken noses after the car's air-bag has inflated.

So how would bicyclist feel about wearing a necklace of explosives? And would their hearing be as good after coming off their bicycle and having the air bag inflate suddenly?

5/30/2012 1:15 PM EDT

that should say ejector seat....

5/30/2012 1:20 PM EDT

Having spent many years as a bicycle racer, I guess the thing that I notice is that probably my 2 most memorable crashes were sort of face-first into the ground. A rigid helmet at least provides some cushion to your forehead - this looks like a face-first impact would just push the hood back.

But maybe that's not fair, I guess this is really meant as a helmet for people that won't wear helments (but for some reason don't mind a gigantic collar).

5/30/2012 1:37 PM EDT

Peter, I think you hit the nail on the head. An automotive airbag only goes off on definitive (destructive) impact, as the immediate impact region on the vehicle is expendable. Can't do that with this helmet, obviously. I would have a hard time trusting some form of intelligent inference triggering that has to interpret the rider's head or other movement to decide when to deploy. And then, even if it can, if it fires a bit late and the rider's head is already nearly touching the ground, the sudden jerk of the bag popping in between the head and ground could cause far more harm than the actual impact.

5/30/2012 2:03 PM EDT

I bicycle, and I wear a helmet as all times. I like the helmet. I don't think I would go with the collar. I expect it to impede airflow around the neck/shoulder area. My helmet has ultiple vents. I suspect this is a solution looking for a problem that is already solved. I have crashed from time to time, and the helmet works very nicely. The helmet is much more visible to others and exudes increased professionalism. ...and the collar looks silly.

5/30/2012 2:19 PM EDT

Updated picture too.

5/30/2012 2:28 PM EDT

The prospect of what might happen because of a design glitch (false triggering or failure to trigger) is frightening.

I think I'll stick with my passive helmet and leave the field testing to more devil-may-care souls.

5/30/2012 8:59 PM EDT

Yeah, mixed feelings about the product.

I bike a lot and never wear a helmet because I want to listen to my MP3 player, but I know this is a safety risk, one this product could address.

On the other hand, I think Peter is right about broken noses and etc. I had a very minor tumble off a scooter over the weekend--not even a scratch--but probably would have set off an airbag that could have caused minor injuries.

5/31/2012 12:06 AM EDT

It looks nice! But what if the battery just runs out when where is accident? Unlike airbag in car that has explosive stuff, I don't think electronics stuff can really help in the last minute!

5/31/2012 5:03 AM EDT

What happend with model's hair? I have a feeling that after deployment of this inflatable helmet model's hair will limit the vision.

5/31/2012 8:11 AM EDT

highly risky.The wearer to follow the instructions to wear it properly.Also what is the life time of this?Will it work properly with all kinds of climate conditions? Is it dust proof? Also from the picture no protection to the face.

5/31/2012 9:58 AM EDT

I suspect the instructions will also need to contain advice on how to crash or fall off properly to trigger the deployment.

I've ridden a bike regularly for years as exercise and have had two incidents where my helmet was destroyed by impact with the road, likely saving me from a concussion, or worse. Once you've had even a single experience like that, the absurdity of the fashion arguement becomes painfully clear.

6/1/2012 3:11 PM EDT

This is intended for a *bicycle* not a *motorcycle*. Also the comparison to an ejection seat is spurious -- those things are designed to propel several hundred pounds of pilot and seat far away from the airplane in a very short time. Totally different order of magnitude.

6/1/2012 3:22 PM EDT

Maybe the airbag could be integrated with the dress. On the detection of a potential crash event the entire dress inflates, protecting all parts of the rider. Might be good to use in a mosh-pit at a rock concert too...

6/1/2012 7:45 PM EDT

There ya go! I just see too many practical jokers remotely setting off the dress air bag.

6/2/2012 8:38 PM EDT

I am scared of false activation. It does more harm than good.

6/2/2012 11:20 PM EDT

I would be concerned about how this thing transmits forces into the wearer during an accident. I would not only want to check the roll-back in a frontal accident, but also the torque applied to the head and neck when it slides or catches on pavement and obstructions. If it's just a collar as it appears, and grabs the user's head as it also appears, then that could be a big problem. I wonder what kind of CE approval they got exactly?

6/3/2012 4:53 AM EDT

what they didn't say is that it breaks your neck when it 'goes off' !

6/4/2012 4:13 PM EDT

As a "fashion statement", I would think that a bike helmet would be much less obtrusive than a think neck brace thing. I don't think people generally ride in dresses with a lot of flowing material to hide such as things as this either. Bike gear tends to be lightweight, thin and very flexible. This looks to be pretty much the opposite.

6/5/2012 6:00 AM EDT

I think a lot of people commenting above didn't take the time to visit the many videos of crash test that the site of the manufacturer proposes. The thing is incredibly fast and efficient, including on face-first hit. While I agree with some comments (like the long hair effect, the air-cooling on neck, and some others), it seems quite childish to think that the battery will not have been taken care of by the owner just like everyone's mobile phone one. And any hit that would break your neck with the helmet would do without it too.

6/5/2012 10:50 PM EDT

There are backpacks for skiing that deploy an airbag in the event of an avalanche to "float" the skier to the surface of the snow. As power requirements and circuits shrink, the creative safety options are expanding into other sports.