Making bicycle helmets cool to wear – Information Centre – Research & Innovation

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Presented an alternative amongst basic safety and convenience, some people are likely to opt for convenience. The same is correct when it will come to bicycle helmets, which have a tendency to sense also warm soon after extended or intensive rides. The shape and non-optimised vents in the helmet as perfectly as the insulated liners usually finish up trapping much also much warmth.

People today commuting to get the job done on a bike, for occasion, do not want a sweaty head and tussled hair for the reason that of wearing a helmet. Without compromising basic safety, scientists were challenged to make the helmets a ton cooler to put on. The dilemma was tackled by the EU-funded SMARTHELMET undertaking which introduced together investigate and sector experts to appear up with a novel solution.

‘SMARTHELMET undertaking concentrated on acquiring helmets with energetic thermal management, where the ventilation can be managed autonomously relying on a rider’s cooling needs,’ says undertaking coordinator Tiago Sotto Mayor of the University of Porto in Portugal.

By planning and generating new helmets that are cooler and more comfy, the hope is that many more will get started wearing them. More bikers suggest a more energetic inhabitants and perhaps cleaner air for people who opt for no more time to commute by motor vehicle. In addition, engineering that could preserve lives is not only intelligent but is also socially accountable.

‘Moreover, helmets are passive objects with a set geometry and shape which simply cannot adapt to riders’ various thermal environments and ventilation needs,’ says Sotto Mayor.

Cooler heads prevail

Typical helmets provide only to guard a person’s head. So creating a single that can also feeling, forecast and adapt its ventilation to the cooling needs of a rider demands a ton of skills.

For SMARTHELMET, this meant initially bringing together a blend of experts in biomechanics, electronics, thermo-regulation, engineering, manufacturing and innovation.

SMARTHELMET scientists then integrated electronics into bicycle helmets to empower real-time sensing of physiological and environmental parameters. These parameters provided heart charge, temperature and relative humidity, which were employed to gauge a rider’s warmth output and different cooling needs.

‘We investigated strategies to adapt the helmet ventilation by using modifications in the characteristics of its vents and joined their procedure with the rider’s thermo-regulation needs,’ says Sotto Mayor.

The results were then integrated into an innovative helmet thought to optimise ventilation by using sensing, electronics and intelligent procedure. The thought also took in other factors like encompassing environmental problems and the cyclist’s level of physical action.

Over and above biking

LAZER, a firm that styles and sells bicycle helmets in more than sixty five nations distribute more than five continents, was also concerned in the undertaking. Sotto Mayor describes the business as a all-natural partner to change the investigate into innovative intelligent bicycle helmets.

Even so, he also notes that the investigate has a significant opportunity in other sectors as perfectly, such as products these types of as motorbike helmets, industrial protective headgear and even protective apparel.

‘The opportunity effect of the get the job done made in the SMARTHELMET undertaking goes beyond the biking earth,’ he provides, noting that the undertaking has also supplied young scientists a fantastic prospect for fingers-on expertise across various sectors.