Editor’s note: This article was first published in September 2012; the price of 400 to 600 euros, the battery life and the features described refer to the product at that time, and both the product and the company may have changed since.
Although wearing a helmet is starting to become compulsory for cyclists in some countries, the truth is that when it comes to cycling to work, whether to save money or out of concern for the environment, many cyclists don’t wear a helmet in the city centre for one reason only: looks. Let’s just say there’s not much point spending a few minutes doing your hair if you’re going to put a helmet on afterwards.
That is where a Swedish company devoted to cyclists’ safety came in, back in 2010. The invention, developed by a group of entrepreneurs, sells safety in the form of an airbag for cyclists, with the added value that it won’t mess up your hair (unless you have an accident) and it will go with your clothes, since it is discreet and comes in different styles and colours.
The “Hövding” (that is the name of this invention) is an ergonomic helmet that meets all safety requirements and doesn’t look like a helmet at all, but rather like a collar, since it is worn around the neck. The collar contains a folded airbag that only becomes visible when you have an accident. The airbag is designed like a hood that encloses and protects the wearer’s head. The release mechanism is controlled by sensors that detect the cyclist’s abnormal movement in an accident.
In the event of an impact or a fall (abnormal movement by the cyclist), the airbag is triggered by accelerometer and gyroscope sensors. The sensors then send a signal to the generator to set off a controlled burst of gas that inflates the airbag, creating, in a tenth of a second, a capsule that surrounds the rider’s head. You can watch the following video, which shows the airbag being tested.
Watch: Hövding airbag tests
The airbag has a battery that lasts about 18 hours and can be recharged via USB. It also has a black box that records up to 10 seconds from the moment it is triggered, so that the data can later be sent to the manufacturer if it fails to work properly.
A few weak spots in this invention
The main flaw of this invention is that, as you can see in the video, in a head-on impact nothing will stop us from breaking our nose and teeth, since it doesn’t cover the front of the head.
The second is the price, which ranges from 400 to 600 euros. And, as with car airbags, once it has been used it has to be replaced, as it can’t be used again.
The third would be what this device considers to be abnormal movement, which leads us to think it wouldn’t be much use on mountain trails.
Other than that, it really does look good, and I imagine that in winter you won’t need a scarf. We don’t know how well these airbags have been received or how many the company is selling. The question is… would you buy one?
Further reading
Featured image: Foto: Simon Bohnsack, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
