Invisible Bicycle Helmet

Style is always important, but so is safety. Bike helmets have long been seen as a necessity by cyclists, but everyone hates the way they look and feel – they are almost universally ugly and uncomfortable.

Two Swedish women decided to take a fresh look at the problem with what they have dubbed the “invisible bike helmet” or “Hövding”. Rather than be a solid block always perched on top of your head, hövding sits in a soft collar around your neck until an accident occurs and it inflates into a large helmet-shaped air-bag.

It makes use of rechargeable battery-powered accelerometers and gyroscopes that detect the typical motions involved in a bike crash. They trigger a tiny gas inflator which instantly fills a nylon airbag with helium. The bag forms a hood around your head that cushions the impact of the street, a car, or anything else you may hit.

To make this dream a reality, the company have taken $10 million investment, and have finally got to the stage when they are able to sell these single use helmets for $600 (about £400) each.