Product news: The Hövding airbag has been on the streets for urban cyclists for four years. The Swedish company put four years of research and development into the third generation of the innovative head protection. A few days ago, Hövding announced the launch of the latest version in Malmö. In addition to further developed airbag technology, the Hövding 3 has an emergency contact notification via Bluetooth.
The Scandinavian company Hövding has been offering the airbag bicycle helmets of the same name worldwide since 2011. The Hövding is a collar equipped with an airbag that the cyclist wears around his neck. According to the manufacturer, the airbag deploys within 0,1 second in the event of an accident. According to a comprehensive bicycle helmet study by the insurance company Folksam, the cushioning effect of the Hövding is three times better than that of traditional bicycle helmets. After four years of research and development, Hövding is now launching the third generation of the innovative airbag for urban cyclists.
“Cycling can be the answer to many questions and challenges that arise regarding the environment, urban congestion and health. We want to raise the protection and safety of cyclists to a higher level. We are aware that safety does not only lie in reactive protection like Hövding offers, but that proactivity is required to reduce the number of accidents” – Fredrik Carling, Managing Director of Hövding
For the development of the algorithms of the new airbag bicycle helmet, the Swedish company examined numerous movement patterns. Among other things, according to the company, more than 3.000 accidents involving stuntmen were staged and data from over 2.000 hours of normal cycling was recorded. In activated mode, the Hövding should register the movements of the user 200 times per second. In the event of an accident, the airbag inflates within 0,1 seconds, encloses the cyclist's head and secures the neck.
ICE function: SMS messages to specified emergency contacts
Another novelty of the bicycle helmet is the possible coupling with a smartphone via Bluetooth - this opens up some interesting possibilities. The new app provides an overview of the distances covered and the remaining battery life. The ICE function (In Case of Emergency) is certainly very useful. In the event of an accident with a deployed airbag, SMS messages can be sent to designated emergency contacts. The messages contain, among other things, the exact coordinates of the accident site. The designers have also lent a hand when it comes to comfort. With an adjustable size, the Hövding 3 should be even more comfortable and allow a perfect fit on the neck and neck.
Web: www.hovding.de