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Foldable paper bike helmet wins student design award

by on17 November 2016


Final product will cost $5


A recyclable, folding paper helmet may not be the first product that comes to mind when preparing to ride a bicycle down a busy street, but the idea has just won international recognition.

Designer Isis Schiffer came up with the idea while she was using bike-sharing schemes in different locations around the world. "When I was exploring new cities I had no access to a helmet and I didn't want to spend $30 buying one," she told BBC News.

Instead, she decided to make one out of recyclable materials costing less than $5. The EcoHelmet uses a honeycomb structure to absorb impact and is coated with material to make it rain resistant for between three to four hours.

The helmet, tested at  Imperial College in London, is ultimately designed for a limited number of uses and will eventually deteriorate and weaken over time. Shiffer says she would like the final design to feature a visible stripe telling the wearer when it has come time to dispose the helmet.

Although Schiffer will receive £30,000 ($37,277) from the James Dyson Foundation to develop the EcoHelmet, she admits that a paper helmet may be a “tough sell”,  especially to groups concerned whether it will meet required public safety standards.

The helmet may be piloted next spring in New York and possibly offered free to bike sharing users at first.

The James Dyson Award is an international student design award challenging individuals to “design something that solves a problem.” One winner and four finalists are chosen from 21 countries who are university level students or graduates in fields of product design, industrial design and engineering.

Last modified on 18 November 2016
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