Necessity is the mother of invention: IIT Rourkee takes helmets first

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee has given the world a new invention and three engineering students have come up with an ingenious design of an inflatable helmet. The helmet can be worn around the neck and remains folded like a collar, till the time of impact is detected.

The helmet comes equipped with sensors to measure several parameters such as acceleration, lean angle, and velocity to identify impact or collision. As soon as impact occurs, the helmet inflates and forms a cushion around the cranium. It has been reported that this cushion is more effective in reducing impact under peak acceleration, which would otherwise normally transferred to the head.

Going by the cost effectivity of these inflatable helmets, they turn out pretty cheap and are said to be inspired by inflatable space structures.

Sarang Nagwanshi, one of the three inventors, told the Economic Times: “We got the idea of inflatable helmet while we were working on an inflatable space antenna at ISRO during our internship. As this helmet is being developed for the first time in India we got very limited help from any external source and our learning curve was steep. The results obtained are very encouraging and we are working towards converting this idea into a reality.”

Another of the three inventors, Rajvardhan Singh mentioned that the helmet is made of Kevlar, a synthetic fibre used in making bullet-proof jackets. Singh claimed that the inflatable helmet offers better protection than traditional helmets.

“The traditional helmets protect only against skull fractures and not against internal brain bleeding and damage caused by the rapid de-acceleration during an accident. Our impact assessment showed inflatable helmets can reduce the peak crash acceleration up to four times, meaning it absorbs the kinetic energy generated during the crash and then releases it slowly, lowering damage from impact,” Singh told the Hindustan Times.

When the three inventors conducted impact tests under standard testing conditions, results revealed that the helmets are capable of extensive reduction in peak acceleration after impact created by collision. It was also found that the force experienced by the dummy head was four times less.

Whilst it is being touted as the invention that entirely overpowers traditional helmets, it is also extremely helpful to bikers by reducing the force without the weight. Since the helmet is made of kevlar, additional foam and coating inside the helmet might not be required. In addition to this, if designed appropriately, bikers might not be inconvenienced while wearing the inflatable helmet. There were reports of the Government earlier looking at ways to redesign the traditional helmets.

In 2017, the death toll of helmet-less riders increased to 195 percent in India. The numbers keep increasing each year. Thus the wearing of a helmet while riding is not only a necessity but the inflatable safety helmet might just be a more viable option for bikers and pillion riders.