Hate bike helmets? What about a personal airbag? - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

Baraka_Guru · 03-31-2011, 07:50 AM

Cyclists: Would you wear an airbag for your head? - The Globe and Mail

Apparently, only a third of Canadian cyclists wear a helmet. A major reason, according to one Swedish design firm, is vanity: people don't want to muss up their hair!

Question: would you wear a personal airbag while cycling?

The video below is entertaining. It shows a few of the different accident types that cyclists might face.
I do admit that the mechanism of the airbag release is interesting.

YouTube - Hövding krocktest

What do you think of this product? If it proves to be safe, do you think it will catch on?

I wear a helmet. No exceptions. I cycle in Toronto, so it's not like I don't have a good reason not to. However, I'm still amazed at how few people wear them in this city. Most cyclists tend to be downtown. I see people barrelling down Queen West on their morning commute, and most of them don't have helmets.

It's crazy if you ask me.

As for the personal airbag, maybe these people (hipsters, etc) would want the safety of the airbag but being able to keep their hair "just so." Me? I don't think a "headbag" would be nearly as safe as an safety-approved helmet.

I don't want to fuck around with my head. After all, my head is the container for my brain.

Redlemon · 03-31-2011, 08:17 AM

I wouldn't be surprised to find out this is safer than a regular helmet.

It isn't very clear what causes the inflation, it appears to be a tilt-based trigger. In which case, make sure to put it on and take it off very carefully.

Did you hear the engineer chuckle at 3:32?

TigerBlood · 03-31-2011, 08:32 AM

I think that is actually a pretty cool idea. I'd feel safer with a personal airbag than a helmet.

Baraka_Guru · 03-31-2011, 08:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Redlemon

I wouldn't be surprised to find out this is safer than a regular helmet.

Yeah, I'm not so sure. It seems too billowy... and thin compared to an airbag in a car. Though I know you aren't going to be travelling at the high speeds you do in a car...but still.

Quote:

It isn't very clear what causes the inflation, it appears to be a tilt-based trigger. In which case, make sure to put it on and take it off very carefully.

I was looking for a pull string attached to the bike frame or something. The tilt seems likely. Maybe it's a combination of tilt and tilt-velocity or something.

Quote:

Did you hear the engineer chuckle at 3:32?

Yeah...that was funny.

girldetective · 03-31-2011, 09:43 AM

I like this very much, and would buy it if it proved as safe or safer than a helmet. Instead of helmet hair bothering me, its the bulk of the helmet.

I live in a bike town, and I think the bikeheadbag would be a successful seller (and not just for the hipsters). Especially if refoldable, like a parachute.

telekinetic · 03-31-2011, 09:53 AM

I can't quite articulate my opinions on these, except to say, I am currently an airbag engineer, and I would not purchase one of these. It's pricepoint is likely to be in the high hundreds if not thousands, anyways. Girldetective, it won't be re-useable. It would need to deploy with either an explosive charge or compressed gas. If compressed gas is used, it could be a 'cool' deployment, but you're probably looking at at least a 1 mol gas inflator, which weighs a couple pounds.

Redlemon · 03-31-2011, 11:49 AM

TK, that's interesting. Once you can think it through a bit more, I'd love to hear your educated opinion.

Here's the company website: Hövding - Den osynliga cykelhjälmen

Quote:

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.

*Hövding will only be deployed if the bicyclist makes an abnormal movement in an accident. This means that Hövding will not protect bicyclists from objects falling directly onto their head from above. However, this type of bicycling accident is extremely rare.

I love the last sentence.

Charlatan · 03-31-2011, 03:09 PM

I think Neal Stephenson wrote about these kinds of devices in Snow Crash. His character YT had hers deploy when her skateboard crashed.

I like it when sci-fi becomes reality.

flat5 · 04-01-2011, 01:47 AM

Helmet is cheaper, reusable, covers more contingencies.
Looking at the videos I wonder what can be done to help protect the back and the chest from the handle bars.

citadel · 04-01-2011, 02:05 AM

I answered the poll before reading it all, and said it depends on the circumstances. I was envisioning some kind of extreme mountainbiking or something. That thing looks very unusual.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Baraka_Guru

Yeah, I'm not so sure. It seems too billowy... and thin compared to an airbag in a car. Though I know you aren't going to be travelling at the high speeds you do in a car...but still.

It seems like a borderline scam to me. They're pre-selling the things. If I chose to use one, I'd wait until it had been around a little while to get all the kinks sorted out and to get some actual results from the people scraping injured bicyclists off the pavement.

A helmet just seems like a much better idea. Nothing to jam up or stop working at the worst possible time.

View Poll Results: Would you wear a personal airbag while cycling?
Yes	2	25.00%
No	3	37.50%
It depends (please elaborate below)	1	12.50%
WTF?!	2	25.00%
Voters: 8. You may not vote on this poll

03-31-2011, 08:17 AM	#2 (permalink)
Redlemon Devoted Donor Location: New England	I wouldn't be surprised to find out this is safer than a regular helmet. It isn't very clear what causes the inflation, it appears to be a tilt-based trigger. In which case, make sure to put it on and take it off very carefully. Did you hear the engineer chuckle at 3:32? __________________ I can't read your signature. Sorry.

03-31-2011, 09:53 AM	#6 (permalink)
telekinetic zomgomgomgomgomgomg Location: Fauxenix, Azerona	I can't quite articulate my opinions on these, except to say, I am currently an airbag engineer, and I would not purchase one of these. It's pricepoint is likely to be in the high hundreds if not thousands, anyways. Girldetective, it won't be re-useable. It would need to deploy with either an explosive charge or compressed gas. If compressed gas is used, it could be a 'cool' deployment, but you're probably looking at at least a 1 mol gas inflator, which weighs a couple pounds. __________________ twisted no more

03-31-2011, 03:09 PM	#8 (permalink)
Charlatan Getting it. Super Moderator Location: Lion City	I think Neal Stephenson wrote about these kinds of devices in Snow Crash. His character YT had hers deploy when her skateboard crashed. I like it when sci-fi becomes reality. __________________ "My hands are on fire. Hands are on fire. Ain't got no more time for all you charlatans and liars." - Old Man Luedecke

03-31-2011, 08:32 AM	#3 (permalink)
TigerBlood Banned Location: Nova	I think that is actually a pretty cool idea. I'd feel safer with a personal airbag than a helmet.

03-31-2011, 09:43 AM	#5 (permalink)
girldetective sufferable	I like this very much, and would buy it if it proved as safe or safer than a helmet. Instead of helmet hair bothering me, its the bulk of the helmet. I live in a bike town, and I think the bikeheadbag would be a successful seller (and not just for the hipsters). Especially if refoldable, like a parachute.

04-01-2011, 01:47 AM	#9 (permalink)
flat5 Very Insignificant Pawn Location: Amsterdam, NL	Helmet is cheaper, reusable, covers more contingencies. Looking at the videos I wonder what can be done to help protect the back and the chest from the handle bars.