A helmet that contains body movement-activated indicators and brake lights, as well as front and rear cameras, has been dubbed the 'world's most intelligent helmet' and is nearing its Kickstarter goal after only two days of crowdfunding.
The Classens helmet, from New York-based designers Brooklyness, is closing in on its $30,000 goal for funding on crowdfunding website Kickstarter, having begun its funding run on June 22.
The helmet itself contains a myriad of technical details to keep cyclists safe on the road; and what's more, they're all intuitive and easy to use - which we know from experience is a rarity in projects like this.
The most obvious features of the Classens helmet are the lights on the front and back of the helmet. These are the momentum-activated brake lights and the movement activated indicators.
As you'll be able to see in the company's Kickstarter video below, the lights work in fantastically intuitive ways. The brake lights use an accelerometer and are activated when a rider's momentum shifts under braking. The indicators on either side of the brake light use gesture sensors to activate the lights when you use the Highway Code recommended indication motion.
While the lights do a fantastic job of making other road users aware of your intentions and movements, the cameras do an excellent job of keeping you alert to the behaviour of other road users.
The rear camera monitors the movements of vehicles behind you. When a vehicle overtakes you a little LED lights up on side which the vehicle is passing.
Those same LED lights can be used to direct you to your destination. An app on your smartphone communicates with the helmet and uses the lights to point you iin the right direction.
The front camera is used to automatically record your ride, and can be used to resolve on-road altercations. You can even live stream directly from your helmet, should you feel the need to show people your journey to work.
Be careful though, your boss might think it's a great idea and all of a sudden those excuses you use to cover your extended lie-ins will no longer wash.
The Classens even features two large holes on either side of the helmet which allow you to lock your lid up with your bike, should you have a large enough U-lock.
Manuel Saez, co-founder of Brooklyness - the design company behind the Classens helmet - told magazine Fast Company that the design agency's aim was to create a "magical" helmet that was easy and intuitive to use.
"We tried hard to make [the helmet] as close as possible to what people are used to," Saez said. "There is no learning curve—the idea is to get it on and ride and as you ride doing the same things you normally do. It is in many ways magical. In a way we used design to humanize technology so it is there when you need it and it disappears when you don't."
While usability was a key aim in their design process, Saez was quick to point out that they didn't let the design process get in the way of the main functionality of a helmet; to protect the rider.
"We focus on safety and made sure technology helps and is not hazardous," he said. "We focus on simplifying the UI so the time to understand the information is short and it can be used by anyone."
This isn't the first smart do-it-all helmet cycling companion we've seen here at road.cc. Back in 2014 an Australian designer tried to push this helmet licence plate crossover into the discussion surrounding registering cyclists like cars.
Unsurprisingly, his clunky design that featured indicators, a licence plate, and, bizarrely, windscreen wipers, didn't get much traction in the market.
The early response to the Classens helmet suggests this story will have an entirely different ending.
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17 comments
Indicators, as already pointed out, useless. And brake light? It seems as if the case for them is "cars have brake lights, bikes should too". But the factors which make brake lights useful for cars simply do not apply to bikes.
When I'm driving behind another car, when it brakes I suddenly catch up with it and will hit it unless I notice it has braked and slow down accordingly.
When I am driving behind a bike I am in any case closing the gap and looking to pass the bike with a good lateral margin - I am not following behind in its wheel track like I would for a car. Whether the bike brakes or not is of little consequence to my actions as a driver, it changes the relative dynamics between us only marginally.
If anything, having a helmet mounted light switching on and off will not be understood as a brake light and is only likely to distract my attention from the task of passing the cyclist safely.
How come a helmet with bells and whistles doesn't have bells or whistles?
I think that the literal bells and whistles will be in the Mark II![1](https://cdn.road.cc/sites/all/modules/contrib/smiley/packs/smilies/1.gif)
I am constantly amazed at how these crowd-funded, pop-up designers manage to try and gadgetize cycling.
I think this fails in the most basic and obvious way: there is no bicycle integrated with it. Also it lacks an engine. People will get wet riding to work in it and it will take a long time due to the absence of wheels.
Surely as long as it's wrapped around something smart then all the tech is redundant.
What is the point of this 'When a vehicle overtakes you a little LED lights up on side which the vehicle is passing', so everytime a vehicle overtakes me the little LED lights up....so what?. On my commute loads of vehicles overtake me, some closer than I would like but most are ok. So what does having a little LED on the side of my helmet light up each time acheive....nothing really because if I'm any sort of cyclist at all then wouldn't I know that a vehicle is overtaking me. More to the point, what am I supposed to do about a vehicle overtaking me that a little blinky LED is going to help. If the vehicle gives me plenty of room and overtakes safely then no issue, if the vehicle overtakes too close but doesn't actually hit me then ok close pass but thanks for the warning blinky LED and if the vehicle hits me from behind then the little blinky LED has done **ck all to keep me safe.
Helmet mounted indicators are a waste of time because unless as someone else has said you time trial your way everywhere then the almost constant movement of your head will render them useless as a means of informing anyone of your intentions.
I just wish people would stop trying to 'smart' everything so it can be connected to a phone, maybe sometimes a helmet is just that, a helmet and not a 'smart' helmet.
Unless your position and movemnet on the bike is time trial esque then most of the video will be crap...
Brexit saves UK from mind control helmet!
/randomtabloidstorygenerator
Fantastic, a chance for another helmet debate as a little light relief from Brexit.
At first I thought ugly as all hell.
Then it started to look quite nice, the shape and colour of the helmet overall is classy and stylish.
Then I saw the back of it. Oh hell no.
Get all that crap on the back in cleared out lenses like a modern car has for a start.
Not a product aimed at me for sure, but they could easily make it better looking.
Expecting other road users to respect a pair of flashing indicators on a pivoting head is a bit unrealistic.
Ditch the useless indicators and the rest of it is fairly useful.
#toomuchtechnology
Seriously: I don't use Strava or satnav; my phone is in my bag when I ride; why would I want to wear a helmet with all these bells and whistles? Too much tech, too much to go wrong, IMO.
Interesting idea, but apart from the obvious looks problem, I wonder how many of those signed up realize they are going to be paying $100 a year to access their videos through the "Classon Club":
What's included in the "Classon Club" Subscription?
Helmet Replacement: If your helmet gets damaged in an accident, we will send you a new one. For free!
Video Access: Get access to the video you record with your helmet. Edit, share with friends and it could also be useful in the event of an accident.
....When in production the "Classon Club" Subscription will be $99 a year or $9.99 a month.
How long before people start calling cyclists irresponsibly selfish for not wearing "smart" helmets? It took about about fifteen years for the same to be happen with "dumb" helmets, from the first viable but sweaty mushroom-head EPS models appearing on the market. But, with the echo chamber of modern social-media-driven public discourse, I reckon that time lag will be greatly reduced.
Ugly as f..k. Looks like a duck's beak. IMHO seriously overpriced.
And that's before you talk about all the stupid gizmos.
And cue debate about the need for helmets......
Looks alright in many ways. IF those kickstarter prices are met, then it will be good for the buyers. I'm quite sceptical of the pricing though given the price of something like the Fly6 light.