Kochi: Two-wheeler users can soon have a ‘smart helmet’ with incredible features to ensure safe riding.
This is being developed by five Plus-One students of St. George Higher Secondary School, Varapuzha, to reduce the fatalities due to non-wearing of helmets. Th-ey were especially concerned after a Motor Vehicles Department official said that the majority of the two-wheeler riders still do not use helmets in spite of the rising number of road deaths.
Amal Varghese, Ajith Paul, Antony K. Prince, G.T. Aswin and Arun K Babu, higher secondary students of science, have developed a prototype of the helmet and sent it to the authorities of Atal Tinkering Marathon, a science innovative competition under Atal Innovation Mission and Niti Ayog.
The prototype they have built in two days in the Atal Tinkering Lab at the school was the result of a month-long thought process. If the prototype is selected and listed in the 37 projects from all over the country, the team will have to present it at the marathon exhibition to be held in Jaipur next year.
The team has put several sensors in the smart helmet which are connected to the engine and speedometer of the motorcycle so that appropriate signals will be given to the engine. The engine will automatically stop if any violations, including drunken drive, are caught by the system.
“As a first step, we are planning to add four main features. These are to automatically ensure that the person, who is riding the vehicle, is wearing the helmet, a breath analyser that will check whether the person has consumed alcohol, a system to alert the rider when he/she falls asleep while driving, and a programme called Bonus Money which will add a display on the backside of the helmet where advertisers can give their ads and the rider gets the money,” Amal Varghese told DC.
An RS transmitter is placed in the helmet and an RS receiver is placed in the motorcycle so as to receive directions such as to stop the engine whenever needed.
“The system installed in the helmet will check every five seconds to ensure whether the helmet is worn or simply placed somewhere. Mea-nwhile, in the Bonus Money, the advertisers will be able to count on how many times the ad has been shown as it will only be displayed while wearing the helmet,” Amal added.
They are also planning to install a distress system where an immediate alert, including an exact location, is given to pre-set mobile numbers asking for help with the location when an external impact like that of an accident happens.
The team has to be sponsored by someone to complete the final project with all the facilities included. Meanw-hile, Kerala police have given support to the initiative and shared their video through their official Facebook page. Teachers Sonu and Jincy are giving assistance to the project.
