Helmet

Given the fact that many ebikes can travel at speeds of up to 28 mph (45 km/h) with little rider effort, should those riders be wearing special helmets? The folks at French startup The Beam seem to think so, which is why they created the Virgo.

Although helmets are required for many sports, Canadian materials engineering technologist Albert Beyer believes that they don't provide enough protection to the back of the head. His solution is a "crumple zone for helmets" known as the DCLR8.

While all team sports can be rough, hockey poses a particularly high risk of brain injuries. A new high-tech helmet is designed to warn of such injuries, by detecting and reporting on knocks to its wearer's head.

Scallops' soft bodies are well-protected by their hard shells, so … could those same shells protect human heads? That question was asked by the Japanese designers of the Shellmet, which is a helmet made partially of scallop shells.

The road is a rich olfactory experience behind the handlebars of a motorcycle, as you'll know if you've found yourself next to a sheep truck. In polluted air, it can also be unhealthy – and this helmet addresses both with a fan-forced HEPA filter.

The Raba helmet from Nature Mobility looks to be an intriguing foldable helmet design. It relies on a series of pre-folds to pack flat and fit naturally in a backpack or handbag. It then dials into a three-dimensional helmet in a matter of seconds.

There are now a number of "smart" bicycle helmets on the market, so for one to stand out, it really has to include a lot of features. The Relee Magician M1 does just that, offering lights, turn indicators, speakers and a camera, among other things.

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University have developed a new shock-absorbing material that is super lightweight, yet offers the protection of metal. The stuff could make for helmets, armor and vehicle parts that are lighter, stronger and reusable.

Texan company Quin Design has released a remarkable flip-up, carbon fiber smart helmet for adventure and touring motorcyclists, with built-in Bluetooth communications and the ability to detect crashes and call for help when a rider's in trouble.

Researchers at LANL have hit upon a microstructure with impressive shock absorption. The team 3D-printed cubes with fractal void patterns inside them, which could be a useful structure for new materials in helmets, armor and other protective items.

These active noise-cancelling earbuds are claimed to kill engine and wind noise to an adjustable degree, while offering full Bluetooth comms and an intercom, in a zero-installation format that works with any motorcycle helmet, or without one at all.

A helmet designed for maximum ventilation won’t be the best in terms of aerodynamics, but an Australian researcher is working on a dynamic version that could offer cyclists both, by changing shape at different stages of a race.