The term “smart” appears to have become the prefix of choice for gadgets and doodads that exhibit even the slightest bit of integration with our daily lives. This “smart cycling helmet” from Chinese company Livall however, is quite clever.
The Livall Bling Helmet is defined as smart by its makers thanks to the connectivity it offers wearers. The helmet was created by Livall founder Yong Liu after he fell off his bicycle and broke his arm. To try and make cycling a safer affair, Liu’s helmet features a windbreak microphone, Bluetooth speakers and a 3-axis G-sensor. While these features don’t sound all that special, the way they come together in this helmet will have you saying, “Why didn’t I think of that?”.
The Bluetooth speaker can be used to stream audio from your smartphone to the helmet and it can also be used as a walkie-talkie. Using the Livall Riding App, wearers can connect with other riders and communicate with each other without having to shout. Text messages received can also be read out by the app so that the eyes of riders remain where they’re meant to be: on the road.
If you happen to fall while out on a solo ride you don’t have to worry about trying to text or call your emergency contacts if you’re wearing a Bling Helmet. The 3-axis G-sensors will identify that you’ve fallen down and immediately notify your emergency contacts that you might be in trouble.
The LED lighting on the helmet makes sure you can be seen at all times, and when paired with the Livall Bling Jet you can notify those behind you that you are turning or passers-by that you have fallen down and may be in trouble.
The Livall Bling Helmet is currently on crowd-funding site Indiegogo and has already surpassed its $20 000 (R258 441,00) target after just 14 days and is currently sitting at $117 612 (R1 519 788) in contributions.
If you’d like one, a contribution of $100 (R1 292,21 which includes shipping) gets you the Bling Helmet, the Bling Jet and the Nano Cadence activity tracker.
If you have already contributed to this campaign or you’re planning to, the Bling Helmet will start shipping to backers from the end of October.
[Source & Images – Indiegogo]
