The only thing worse than embarrassing yourself while skiing or snowboarding is messing up your cranium in the process. Enter the Head Impact Detection and Alert System, a sophisticated helmet that both detects and signals brain injuries as they occur.
Developed by a team of students at Northeastern University, the helmet combines an array of sensors that measure acceleration and impact, displaying a corresponding color-coded alert on an integrated LCD screen. When an impact is detected, a green light indicates a mild injury, while a red light would alert individuals and anyone around them to a serious and potentially fatal spill.
But don't let the green light fool you, because even a modest tumble can lead to potentially dire complications: "Our research found that there are a lot of less severe head injuries that, when untreated, can actually be worse than really bad concussions," explained one of the students. With that in mind, riders involved in a seemingly unimportant accident might check their helmets and head to the hospital instead of back to the chalet.
The HIDA helmet is currently still a prototype, albeit a fully functional one, with uses the team thinks could extend beyond Aspen, into a range of athletic and even military applications.
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