From Hövding:
Hövding is a bicycle helmet unlike any other currently on the market. It’s ergonomic, it’s practical, it complies with all the safety requirements, and it’s also subtle and blends in with what else you are wearing.
Hövding is a collar for bicyclists, worn around the neck. The collar contains a folded up airbag that you’ll only see if you happen to have an accident. The airbag is shaped like a hood, surrounding and protecting the bicyclist’s head. The trigger mechanism is controlled by sensors which pick up the abnormal movements of a bicyclist in an accident.
The actual collar is the visible part of the invention. It’s covered by a removable shell that you can change to match your outfit, and we’ll be launching new designs all the time. Hövding is a practical accessory that’s easy to carry around, it’s got a great-looking yet subtle design, and it will save your life.
The Airbag
The airbag inflates and surrounds the head in case of an accident. The airbag consists of an inner and an outer hood, attached together by straps. It’s made in an ultra-strong nylon fabric that won’t rip when scraped against asphalt. The way the hood is designed and folded into the collar ensures that it will inflate quickly and safely. It takes about 0.1 seconds to inflate and the airbag will be fully inflated before head impact. Hövding protects nearly all of the head while leaving the field of vision open.
The protective area is designed according to current accident statistics, and the protection is greatest where it is needed most. Gas is optimal as protective material. The airbag provides soft and effective shock absorption and maintains constant pressure for several seconds, making it able to withstand several impacts to the head in the same accident. After that the airbag slowly starts to deflate.
Sensors
The airbag is deployed by sensors – accelerometers and gyros – that pick up a bicyclist’s abnormal movements in the event of an accident. The sensors then send a signal to the gas inflator to inflate the airbag.
When Hövding is switched on, the sensors are constantly monitoring the wearer’s movements. A bicyclist’s movement patterns are divided into two different categories:
Normal movements: All bicycling in the city and on main roads, as well as all the normal movements you make before, during and after a bicycle ride such as running up and down steps, locking your bicycle, braking suddenly, giving way, pumping the tyres, etc. are defined as normal movements. Normal movements won’t cause Hövding to inflate.
Abnormal movements: The movement patterns of a bicyclist in an accident are defined as abnormal movements. In an accident, a bicyclist’s movements are completely different from those seen in normal bicycling. That’s why the airbag is only triggered by accidents*.
To be able to distinguish between these two categories of movements, we’ve spent the past few years gathering data on the movement patterns of a large number of bicyclists in everyday bicycling situations. We’ve also re-enacted all known types of bicycling accident and recorded the movement patterns of bicyclists in these accidents. We staged fatal bicycling accidents using crash test dummies, while other bicycling accidents were re-enacted by stunt riders, male and female. We put all these movement patterns into our database and have developed a unique, patent pending, mathematical method for distinguishing between normal and abnormal movements. This method combined with the sensors is Hövding’s brain.
To continue reading how the different components of the helmet work, including the gas inflator, collar, shell, black box, etc., visit: How Hövding Works
Video Source: The Invisible Bicycle Helmet | Fredrik Gertten from Focus Forward Films on Vimeo.
