Made from pretty much the same cardboard your TV was packed in, this cleverly constructed cardboard bike helmet can absorb four times more impact energy than a plastic one while also managing to survive longer. And don’t worry, it has been treated to be water-resistant, so rain isn’t going to destroy it.
The cardboard helmet is called Kranium and has been designed by London Royal College of Art graduate Anirudha Surabhi.
The structure of Kranium has been developed to absorb the impact energy. The ribs of the structure have been designed to accommodate movement in some places where as it remains perfectly rigid in some areas. Thus during a crash the force peak of the impact is absorbed by the ribs tending to flex and de-flex. The remaining amount of energy is then absorbed by the crumpling nature of the corrugated ribs. When tested against the British Standards (EN 1078) at the Imperial College, Kranium absorbs 4 times the amount of impact energy when compared to regular cycling helmets. This means that during a crash, lesser amounts of energy go into your head thus making it safer than regular cycling helmets.
Kranium has also proven to last more than one impact. During the testing phase the same helmet has been tested 5 times consecutively and it still proved to pass the standard. Polystyrene helmets however are rendered useless after a single impact. It has also been impregnated with a compound to make the cardboard water-proof.
The design has already been licensed by several large manufacturers and so the helmet might become commercially available at some point in the future.
