£5 Paper Bicycle Helmet wins the 2016 Dyson Award

[Master Disaster]

So for those who don't know, each year Dyson pick out a new tech invention to win an award of £30,000 to support the inventor in getting the invention to market.

 

This year James Dyson picked out a fairly mind boggling invention, the paper bicycle helmet. The premise is simple, the inventor wanted to create a helmet that could be sold cheaply in cities with bike sharing schemes so riders didn't have to go helmetless, that was strong enough to protect the wearer and foldable so it could be stored away when you get off the bike.

 

Quote

A recyclable, folding cycling helmet made of paper has won this year's international James Dyson Award.

 

The EcoHelmet is designed for people who use bike-sharing schemes and might not always have a helmet with them.

 

Designer Isis Shiffer is delighted with the win but admits that a paper helmet may be a "tough sell".

 

She describes herself as an "ardent but slow" cyclist and came up with the idea when she was using bike-sharing schemes around the world.

 

"When I was exploring new cities I had no access to a helmet and I didn't want to spend $30 buying one," she told the BBC.

 

She decided to design one, made of cheap, recyclable materials that would cost less than $5.

 

The helmet uses a honeycomb structure to protect the head which, according to Ms Shiffer, is "incredibly good at absorbing impact".

 

"They have a test rig for helmets and the professor in charge of the lab let me test out a lot of materials.

 

It turns out it was a lot of fun. There is a frame with an anvil on the bottom and an accelerometer to measure speed and impact," explained Ms Shiffer.

 

"It is so solid and everyone who had held it in their hands is surprised about how solid it is," she said.

Quote

Ms Shiffer will receive £30,000 to further develop the helmet. Describing it as "the holy grail" of design awards, she said that she was "astonished" to win it.

 

She hopes to pilot the new helmet in New York in the spring, possibly offering it free to bike-share users at first.

 

The helmet is designed for a limited number of uses and will deteriorate and weaken over time, especially if carried around at the bottom of a bag. The final design is likely to have a visible stripe that will wear off when it is time to throw it away or a clip that ceases to work after a certain amount of time.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-38004215

 

You've gotta be impressed by that TBH, a helmet made entirely out of paper that supposedly works, is cheap, foldable and recyclable too.

[iRileyx]

I wonder how it'd hold up in the rain

[Master Disaster]

Just now, RKRiley said:

I wonder how it'd hold up in the rain

You know, that's a damn good question.

[rn8686]

Bike "Helmet". 

[alexyy]

can be useful in a pinch I suppose, as long as it meets the safety requirements no problem.

 

3 minutes ago, RKRiley said:

I wonder how it'd hold up in the rain

Judging by it's price it's a throwaway solution.

[Space Reptile]

I read Darwin award at first

[Bouzoo]

8 minutes ago, RKRiley said:

I wonder how it'd hold up in the rain

Not that driving a bicycle in the rain is a clever idea as it is. 

[tlink]

this thing will never actually protect you as much as a real helmet, not that you really need it because most of the injury's with biking in the city come from accidents and are injury's to the neck. but whatever. there's a reason only kids in the netherlands wear helmets.

[itsMilan]

1 minute ago, tlink said:

this thing will never actually protect you as much as a real helmet, not that you really need it because most of the injury's with biking in the city come from accidents and are injury's to the neck. but whatever. there's a reason only kids in the netherlands wear helmets.

Kids in German and Belgium wear helmets, they need to.

Nobody wears helmets around here.

[tlink]

Just now, itsMilan said:

Kids in German and Belgium wear helmets, they need to.

Nobody wears helmets around here.

yea exactly i understand kids, they are growing and not in proper control of their body because they don't know their dimensions yet, or elderly who can easily fall. i mean the product is cool and innovative but i don't really see the market for it, and i doubt its as sturdy as a real helmet.

[GlassBomb]

As a normal helmet, then it's probably pretty bad. Since it would have to deal with every day situations, such as rain and such.

 

But for events/school trips, etc. Then this should be good enough as a throw-away item.

[itsMilan]

1 minute ago, tlink said:

yea exactly i understand kids, they are growing and not in proper control of their body because they don't know their dimensions yet, or elderly who can easily fall. i mean the product is cool and innovative but i don't really see the market for it, and i doubt its as sturdy as a real helmet.

Well, it's a good cheap solution and definitely better than nothing.

I think is pretty smart, and it earned to win the award.

 

But I also see that it  isn't a real safe helmet.

[Miguel Batista]

20 minutes ago, tlink said:

yea exactly i understand kids, they are growing and not in proper control of their body because they don't know their dimensions yet, or elderly who can easily fall. i mean the product is cool and innovative but i don't really see the market for it, and i doubt its as sturdy as a real helmet.

Helmets are a must have IMHO. I can tell you about the time where I had a nasty crash on my mountain bike and a metal spike from my pedals lodged itself in my helmet or that falling at 50 kph on a road bike an helmet can mean the difference between becoming a vegetable or not. 

 

Regarding paper, it is extremely tough. The Chinese even user paper armour that was very good against arrows and puncturing blows. It the paper is oiled it should hold in the rain which btw, is perfectly fine to ride in. I don'the know where you live but here in the UK if you don'the ride in the rain, you don'the ride at all.

[stconquest]

A simple outer membrane will solve the rain issue.  Add $0.25 to the cost.

[tlink]

11 minutes ago, Miguel Batista said:

Helmets are a must have IMHO. I can tell you about the time where I had a nasty crash on my mountain bike and a metal spike from my pedals lodged itself in my helmet or that falling at 50 kph on a road bike an helmet can mean the difference between becoming a vegetable or not. 

 

Regarding paper, it is extremely tough. The Chinese even user paper armour that was very good against arrows and puncturing blows. It the paper is oiled it should hold in the rain which btw, is perfectly fine to ride in. I don'the know where you live but here in the UK if you don'the ride in the rain, you don'the ride at all.

a mountain bike is not comparable to a normal bike, and i can assure you that nowhere in the world that is anyone biking at 50 km/h as a means of transport or sight seeing. and thats exactly what these helmets are meant for, tourists.

[Maslofski]

1 hour ago, RKRiley said:

I wonder how it'd hold up in the rain

if they put some sort of thin layer of plastic or wax on it it might hold

[NumLock21]

So those decorations, that's hung during holidays, can now be a helmet?

 

 

Does is hold against the rain?

RTFA

[iRileyx]

3 hours ago, Master Disaster said:

You know, that's a damn good question.

Yeah, especially here in the UK where it rains.. alot..

[Sniperfox47]

4 hours ago, Master Disaster said:

Designer Isis Shiffer is delighted with the win but admits that a paper helmet may be a "tough sell".

All the people saying this obviously isn't as protective as a "real" helmet prove this point.

 

There's no reason this can't be just as protective as a traditional helmet. Paper can be incredibly strong depending on how it's made. Just think about the difference between manilla cards vs writing paper for an example. Modern helmets are as much about aesthetic and aerodynamics as they are about protection.

 

I'd actually argue that it's very possible this could be more protective than a traditional helmet if the paper is the right amount of strong, since it can probably crumple to absorb the impulse better than the hard foam used in a lot of traditional helmets (think crumple zones in cars).

[SansVarnic]

Nobody needs a helmet to ride a bike on the street, only if your "special" do you really need one.

If your off roading / mt. biking then I will agree a helmet can be considered necessary but otherwise no.

 

[dfsdfgfkjsefoiqzemnd]

11 hours ago, Miguel Batista said:

falling at 50 kph on a road bike an helmet can mean the difference between becoming a vegetable or not

There's 2 sides to this argument.  You can also fall hard enough with a helmet to turn into a vegetable whereas the same crash without a helmet would simply have killed you. 

Which of the 2 is the worst?  A quick death and a grieving process for your family/friends after which they can move on with their lives ... or spending the rest of your life unable to do anything and being a constant burden on them? 

 

You never can predict accidents or their aftermath.  What may seem the safest thing can in fact turn out to be the worst.

[Curufinwe_wins]

3 hours ago, Captain Chaos said:

There's 2 sides to this argument.  You can also fall hard enough with a helmet to turn into a vegetable whereas the same crash without a helmet would simply have killed you. 

Which of the 2 is the worst?  A quick death and a grieving process for your family/friends after which they can move on with their lives ... or spending the rest of your life unable to do anything and being a constant burden on them? 

 

You never can predict accidents or their aftermath.  What may seem the safest thing can in fact turn out to be the worst.

That's the same argument that people use to justify not wearing seat belts. Sum it over all possibility space and there is still a huge net benefit to helmets.

[NumLock21]

 

 

 

 

[malon]

Well knowing that if you ever fall on your head wile wearing a helmet it is recomended to replace it because of safety compromises in the design by the impact, and that good helmets cost a fair amount of any currency, this is a good thing to exist if it realy works like any other good helmet but for a fraction of the price, this is a good thing

[Monkey Dust]

Supposedly it's coated so it will survive 3-4 hours of rain.