Bicycles are becoming an increasingly popular means of transportation on the busy roads of modern metropolitan areas. Cyclists’ safety is ensured by special helmets, which in many cases are bulky and inconvenient to use. Newton-Rider has developed a soft helmet that is fundamentally different from the traditional helmets often ignored by cyclists.
The Newton-Rider helmet is designed to instantly increase surface stiffness upon impact. To enable this property, the inner surface of the helmet is made from flexible stretchable liners. The latter are connected to the outer parts, created from a patented combination of viscoelastic materials and non-Newtonian fluid.
The helmet by Newton-Rider is compact enough, which does not pose any problems during its use. The helmet weighs 460 grams and is only 16 mm thick, unlike traditional styrofoam bicycle helmets, which are up to 35 mm thick.
At the moment of impact, the surface of the helmet instantly becomes rigid, allowing it to absorb the energy from the collision and protect the user’s head from injury. Sometime after the collision, the surface of the helmet becomes flexible again.
The Newton-Rider helmet has already received the European safety certificate according to the EN 1078 standard and will receive the US safety certificate – CPSC in early 2021. The helmet also has a built-in NFC sensor that allows identifying the owners via a special application, thus stimulating the ride with the helmet on.
The Newton-Rider project is currently on display on Indiegogo, where it can be pre-ordered for $80. The helmet will be sold for about $115 a piece.
