March 28, 2014

Friday Helmet Fun

Each Friday, we dig a little in the archives (Nutcase or otherwise) to find some helmet fun past, present, and future.  This week the fun includes this lovely photo of a giraffe-themed paint job on a bike spotted in Porto Alegre, Brazil by Instagram user Gilson de Azevedo. (The gum-pink rims are inspired!) So the question is, what equally fun helmet would you pair with this absolutely awesome bike?

Not this one below, we hope. No, this baby is an antique from 1949, located at the National Bicycle Museum Velorama in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. It’s got to be the original brain bucket bicycle helmet, and it looks heavier than a brick. Nice to know that these days helmet designers are all about maximizing brain protection while minimizing weight as much as possible.

Last but not least, at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, a sub-group of gaming researchers at Exertion Games Lab is on the lookout for technology that can make helmet wearing more fun. That’s because the researchers want people to get excited about gaming with their bodies and not just their brains. One of their prototype pet projects is the Lunahelm. It’s a regular helmet shell covered all over with LED lights. The beauty of the Lunahelm is in the programming – the researchers want the helmet covering to serve as a communications platform for its wearer. For example, by a little nod to the left, a Lunahelm wearer might signal an intention to turn that way – and the helmet’s LEDs might blink in an arrow formation just as a turn signal on a car would. Thus far Lunahelm is not a purchasable product, but the researches continue to explore what 104 LEDs all over a helmet can do for social interaction and safety.