IDC Design Covers New Ground in Biker Saftey

The award-winning new product development experts at Industrial Design Consultancy Ltd. (IDC), have taken motorcycle safety to an entirely new level following the recent design of a next generation helmet.

IDC has been in the business of product development for over 30 years and possesses an impressive history of firsts when it comes to design, many of which have been recognised within the industry by international awards.  Its latest design is no exception.  The hi-tech helmet, aptly named the SuperSkin®, provides a long-overdue improvement in head protection for bikers and is already receiving wide-spread attention.

With over 80% of fatal motorcycle accidents due to head trauma, rotational head injury is currently seen as the greatest cause of brain damage or death for motorcyclists involved in road accidents.  The SuperSkin® uses groundbreaking technology developed by a British medic, Dr. Ken Phillips, which mimics nature’s own simple design – the skull and skin dynamic.

Such a seemingly straightforward concept required a highly innovative – and potentially complex - design which would stand up to rigorous national and international safety tests.  

Managing director of IDC, Stephen Knowles, explains, “Traditionally, motorcycle helmets have been rigid in design. To mirror nature, we needed to introduce a dynamic element of movement to dramatically reduce the rotational impact which often causes life-threatening injuries. The greatest challenge was finding the right materials to work together for a winning formula.”

CAD software provided a quick means to transforming the concept into a series of tangible designs without breaking from the standard helmet shell.  If the helmet was to be a serious contender for improving biker safety, then the testing process had to be intensive. 

Knowles continues, “We needed to think carefully about what happens on impact during an accident. Research and testing was central to the process.  We had to find a combination of materials that would act as an outer membrane capable of stretching and sliding over the main helmet shell to prevent or dramatically minimise these dangerous rotational forces being transmitted to the head and brain.  In effect, the two surfaces needed to work together to effectively reduce the friction; this would prevent the head from turning on impact, and rotational injury occurring.”

With the main concept proven, the materials needed to be exactly right to manage everyday wear and tear and remain tough enough for the possibility of a high impact accident. Rapid prototyping specialists worked closely with in-house product designers and engineers to work out a combination of materials that would meet the key design criteria.

Precision CNC machining provided multiple impact absorbing liners for the helmet to be scuplted from a polystyrene block with optimum absorbance performance, allowing the team to test each design change along the way.
The product design team then worked together to create a membrane that would slide on the surface of the helmet without breaking on impact. A supremely elastic material was needed to act as the outer membrane covering the hard shell of the helmet.  A gel-like lubricant was sought out which could cushion the helmet, sandwiched between the shell and membrane layer. Effectively, this would allow the main helmet to slide within it, absorbing impact.

Brian Gough, who led the project at IDC, explained, “We needed to whittle down the materials to a short list of plausible contenders.  Everything was minutely scrutinized for effectiveness and suitability from lubricants to elastomers and adhesives. In many respects we were dealing with a contradiction. On the one hand we needed to fix the membrane to the helmet shell, but on the other, inherently the design demanded a dynamic element of movement around which the whole concept of reducing rotational forces was hinged.”

State-of -the-art vacuum casting was used to create prototypes and each material was tested for resistance and strength.  Well over 100 different prototypes were made in order to carry out the tests.  IDC’s designers, engineers and model makers liaised with the UK’s Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) very closely to achieve the exact technical details including dimensional and impact requirements.  IDC’s in-house model-making studio was able to multiple prototype test helmets on demand. The TRL testing used these prototype helmets complete with accelerometers were dropped onto a 15 degree incline with a road-like abrasive surface and filmed.  The testing process, caught on camera too, provided invaluable feedback to honing and perfecting the helmet design.

Age-testing was also integral to the development process. Understanding which material would sustain wear and tear as well as remain resistant to the lubricant was a challenge. Equally, a robust and highly specialist paint had to be used following numerous tests which showed standard paints were inappropriate for similar reasons.

Ultimately, the chosen membrane synthetic stretched up to eight times its original length and showed the greatest durability out of all prototypes tested. Impact tests by TRL and the biomechanics team at Louis Pasteur University of Strasbourg both found that the maximum rotational speed was a quarter of that shown in standard helmets, determining it to be clearly superior in design compared to standard helmets. Additionally, the results clearly illustrated that rotational acceleration was reduced by two-thirds with the SuperSkin®. In summary, the stringent tests revealed that the SuperSkin® product design reduces rotational impact by an unprecedented 50% and the subsequent possibility of brain damage by 67.5%.

The man behind the SuperSkin® helmet, Dr. Ken Phillips of Phillips Helmets Ltd., who tasked IDC with turning some fifteen years of research into a workable product design, was delighted with the outcome, “Whilst we cannot prevent road accidents altogether, by creating a helmet that replicates a much stronger version of the human skull and skin that protects our brains, we can go a long way to saving innumerable lives.”

The helmet has been brought to market by major helmet manufacturer Lazer Helmets SA.  The response from the biker world and industry has been encouraging, with many keen to test the helmet out for themselves. With this in mind, IDC is now working with Dr. Phillips to develop other applications of the technology and bring such safety benefits to different areas of interest. An equestrian version is currently under test and other sports also stand to profit from similar new designs by IDC in the future.

Diagram of Anti Rotational Safety Concept	Photo of Impact Testing	The Helmet

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