August 30, 2006 5:16 PM PDT
From the outside, the Smart Helmet looks ordinary. It's a black, shiny BMX helmet designed to block wind noise. It has a chin bar with a built-in microphone near the mouth that muffles external noise, too.
Inside, the helmet has a microchip PIC processor that controls everything from turning blinkers on to recording voice commands. A built-in accelerometer--a device that measures acceleration or its own motion--detects when the wearer gets bumped or nods his head, which then causes the chip to activate various commands.
For example, the wearer can tip his head to the left to turn the left-side blinker on at the back of the helmet. If the wearer yells at an unruly motorist, the helmet will activate a horn at a higher decibel than the human noise.
Photo by Ted Selker
