One doesn't need statistics to conclude that Indian roads are some of the most dangerous in the world, if not the most! Approximately, 27 per cent of deaths caused by road accidents in India are of two-wheeler motorists and a sizeable chunk of it is because of head injuries. In a bid to combat that, students from IIT-Roorkee have developed an inflatable airbag helmet for two-wheeler motorists.The inflatable airbag helmet was developed by three final year mechanical engineering students at IIT Roorkee - Rajvardhan Singh, Sarang Nagwanshi and Mohit Siddha. The idea has been inspired from inflatable space structures which are not too expensive and are used for many space applications such as an inflatable space antenna. Once the proper production model of the helmet is ready, it could be priced somewhere between Rs. 2,000 or so.
In simple words, the helmet is basically a collar made out of Kevlar (same material used to make bullet-proof vests) and it houses sensors for lean angle, velocity, acceleration and so on. The moment, the collar detects an impact; it inflates into an airbag and forms a cushioning layer around the head so as to protect from major injuries. The airbag that surrounds the head helps to lessen the impact and peak acceleration which is what harms the head the most.
Regular helmets do not quite distribute pressure in case of an impact and also do not reduce peak acceleration. According to the tests conducted the IIT-Roorkee team, the inflatable airbag helmet reduced the force on the crash test dummy by up to four times on impact as compared to a conventional helmet. Also, the airbag helmet is able to reduce the peak acceleration as well.
Photo Source: helmet.arrivegood.site
