Woodpecker inspires cardboard bike helmet (BBC) [View all]

[eppur_se_muova]

Emily Anthes

If ever there were a creature that seemed destined to suffer from concussions, it would be the woodpecker. It pounds its head at into tree trunks 12,000 times per day, at speeds of 6 to 7m/s. And yet, despite this frequent, high speed head banging, the birds experience no brain damage. Not a lick.

Luckily for the woodpecker, evolution has handed it a variety of anatomical adaptations that protect its head during all that hammering. And soon, we humans may also be able to keep concussions at bay using the woodpecker’s time-tested methods.

Industrial designer Anirudha Surabhi has created the new, super-strong Kranium bike helmet, which protect cyclists’ heads by mimicking features of the woodpecker’s distinctive anatomy.

Surabhi’s interest in building a better bike helmet is personal. Several years ago, he was riding his bike through Notting Hill in London when he had an accident. He was wearing a helmet but still ended up in the hospital with a concussion. “My fall wasn’t really that bad,” Surabhi says. “It was a minor fall, but still my helmet cracked.”

At the time, Surabhi was doing a master’s degree in design at the Royal College of Art, and he just happened to be looking for an idea for his final solo project. He decided to try to build a better bike helmet - and to take inspiration from nature.
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more: http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20130115-woodpecker-inspires-bike-helmet