This project by design students Julien Bergignat and Patrice Mouille seems cool at first, but Fast Company’s Cliff Kuang points out some serious flaws:
[The Tatoo] neglects the way bike helmets actually work. It’s not simply that they’re padded–the padding inside a bike helmet is mostly for wearer comfort, rather than protection. Rather, helmets protect you because they’re monolithic and rigid–that allows the force of an impact to transmitted along their length, rather than directly into your head. They’re made of foam both to be lightweight and so that they can easily crack–just like a racecar, they’re meant to break-up upon impact, to further disperse kinetic energy. When wearing the Tatoo, you might feel the warm glow of future-forward design. You also won’t feel your legs, after you’re paralyzed.
At first blush he’s probably right. Is there any value in this project beyond serving as filling for a design student’s portfolio?
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