LIVING HELMET
[project highlight]
This is a speculative design project, looking to apply a strain-rate sensitive, energy-absorbing material to a soft bike helmet. The helmet was made to be as convenient as possible. With the goal of minimising weight and maximising foldability.
The design was prototyped and tested on a drop rig to the UK bike helmet standards and would easily pass, whilst being recyclable and reusable for multiple crashes.
A selection of visualizations showing the final helmet design in context. These were created by matching the approximate lighting setup in Blender. These images are then composited into the scene using Photoshop. It is important to try and match the look of each individual image to make the render fit as seamlessly as possible.
This project was the early conceptualisation of a helmet. The focus was on creating a compelling baseline concept, but I did create additional design directions to take the project further. The mechanism of the helmet allowed for the snapping of more modular parts to alter the look and present a more sporty appearance.
During the development, algorithmic CAD was used to incrementally adjust the parameters of the main mechanical parts. Injection moulding tools were 3D printed and used to make samples to test on a drop rig. The results were analysed and allowed for the optimisation of the structure.
The living hinge went through many different options to evaluate the optimal mechanism for the core objectives.
The design needed to remain completely iterable so that it could be redesigned as the iterations of testing were completed.