A Smart Helmet That Protects Bikers From Themselves

Are you sick of how two-wheeler riders flout traffic lights and endanger themselves and others around them? Not to mention the road rage we have to endure, when pedestrians point it out to them? Don’t you wish they end up on their face some day, for doing it? Well, some IIT guys have figured that this may happen at some point, if it hasn’t already, so they are looking to raise funding for a ‘smart’ helmet, which will protect reckless riders from themselves.

Rishabh Babeley, Naman Singhal, and Shubham Jaiswal are the brains behind ‘Helmatron’, which is a helmet that a rider has to wear to start his bike. Else, without it, the bike won’t start. Its other features include being able to restrict drunk riding, since it has an alcohol sensor installed in it, which monitors the alcohol content on their breath. This feature alone should make people riding two-wheelers safe for the rest of us too! Their profile on applyifi also stated that

It has a GPS-GSM feature which will call an ambulance immediately and send an SMS alert to selected contacts, in case the rider meets with an accident.”

It also has bluetooth encryption technology which will curb vehicle thefts substantially. The team is working “on a peltier cooling assembly” which is going to be fitted in the helmet to make it cooler and comfortable too. Then they are thinking of installing a touch navigation system, to assist the rider in reaching his destination in the most efficient way.

Helmatron is a product that can improve the mortality rate in India, which has overtaken China, and now has the worst road traffic accident rate worldwide. The World Health Organization (WHO,) in its first ever Global Status Report on Road Safety stated that there is one death every four minutes due to a road accident in India. Also 16 children die on Indian roads daily and 70% of road accidents in India, occur due to drunk driving. Also, six motorcycles are stolen every hour here.

Being well aware of the above statistics, the Helmatron team is looking to develop a fully functional prototype and develop the necessary infrastructure with funding, they are expecting to raise, to the tune of $25,000 and a following round of $3 million. Their revenue model includes getting a patent and earning from copyrights. They plan to use any financing they get, on developing the first 50 helmets, to kick-start the business.

They just might have a winning idea here, as their research has shown that this is a $1-2 billion market globally, and there is potential for 15% growth. If all goes well, they plan to achieve revenues of $10-$25 million, with 80 lakh customers wearing their helmets, in three years.

Picture is representative.

Written for Ericsson's blog.