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

Supplied an choice involving basic safety and consolation, some people are possible to opt for consolation. The identical is true when it arrives to bicycle helmets, which tend to feel as well heat following prolonged or intensive rides. The shape and non-optimised vents in the helmet as very well as the insulated liners often conclusion up trapping substantially as well substantially heat.

People today commuting to perform on a bicycle, for instance, do not want a sweaty head and tussled hair since of putting on a helmet. Without compromising basic safety, researchers were being challenged to make the helmets a whole lot cooler to put on. The dilemma was tackled by the EU-funded SMARTHELMET challenge which introduced collectively investigate and marketplace industry experts to arrive up with a novel option.

‘SMARTHELMET challenge focused on building helmets with active thermal management, where the ventilation can be managed autonomously depending on a rider’s cooling desires,’ says challenge coordinator Tiago Sotto Mayor of the University of Porto in Portugal.

By designing and creating new helmets that are cooler and more comfy, the hope is that several more will commence putting on them. Much more bikers suggest a more active populace and potentially cleaner air for all those who opt for no for a longer period to commute by auto. Furthermore, engineering that could help save lives is not only intelligent but is also socially accountable.

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

Cooler heads prevail

Standard helmets provide only to protect a person’s head. So making one that can also perception, predict and adapt its ventilation to the cooling desires of a rider necessitates a whole lot of experience.

For SMARTHELMET, this intended very first bringing collectively a combine of industry experts in biomechanics, electronics, thermo-regulation, engineering, manufacturing and innovation.

SMARTHELMET researchers then integrated electronics into bicycle helmets to enable real-time sensing of physiological and environmental parameters. These parameters integrated heart price, temperature and relative humidity, which were being utilised to gauge a rider’s heat output and varying cooling desires.

‘We investigated ways to adapt the helmet ventilation via variations in the attributes of its vents and linked their operation with the rider’s thermo-regulation desires,’ says Sotto Mayor.

The results were being then integrated into an innovative helmet principle to optimise ventilation via sensing, electronics and intelligent operation. The principle also took in other elements like surrounding environmental problems and the cyclist’s level of actual physical activity.

Outside of biking

LAZER, a company that patterns and sells bicycle helmets in more than 65 international locations unfold above 5 continents, was also concerned in the challenge. Sotto Mayor describes the firm as a natural husband or wife to turn the investigate into innovative intelligent bicycle helmets.

However, he also notes that the investigate has a substantial likely in other sectors as very well, including objects these types of as motorbike helmets, industrial protective headgear and even protective clothes.

‘The likely impression of the perform produced in the SMARTHELMET challenge goes over and above the biking earth,’ he provides, noting that the challenge has also specified young researchers a terrific option for fingers-on knowledge throughout diverse sectors.