lovesouthernsocial.com

It has a shape that follows the honeycomb pattern, in order to withstand impacts throughout the coverage.

Image: disclosure

Anyone who is a regular cyclist always has his favorite helmet handy when he goes for a ride on a bike... But that doesn't happen with occasional users, who use a bike sharing service, for example. What if there was a cheap, compact and recyclable helmet to provide protection for this type of cyclist?

Designer Isis Shiffer realized the need for a better helmet solution for bike-sharing service users, as nearly 90% of them do not use the equipment while driving their sustainable vehicles. Then came the EcoHelmet.

Image: disclosure

The product is made from recycled paper and is constructed in the shape of a radial honeycomb pattern, which protects the head in all reach regions equally, just like the polystyrene of normal helmets - the advantage is that it is foldable and has the the size of a banana when not in use. The helmet cardboard is coated with a biodegradable solution that is water resistant, causing the EcoHelmet can be exposed to rain for three hours without problems. Item can be easily recycled whenever user wants. For her work, Shiffer was selected as the international winner of the James Dyson Award 2016, it's the EcoHelmet can be made available on vending machines at 2017 bike-sharing stations in New York at an estimated cost of $5.

Is it safe?

The helmet still needs certification to start being sold, but Shiffer says he took several tests while he studied in England, at Royal College of Art. "They had a European standard helmet test rig that helped me collect data for the honeycomb configuration of the EcoHelmet in order to know that it was a viable project and that it was worth developing".

You can check out the crash test in the video. To learn more, visit the project's official website.