HELLI, a Smart Helmet that can save Precious Lives on the Road
by Yash Saboo January 3 2018, 8:24 pm Estimated Reading Time: 2 mins, 33 secsHere’s a lifesaving idea which has now been turned into a reality, thanks to the really innovative techies at Let’s Innovate. This smart helmet promises to call emergency services and text your relatives if you’re in a crash. HELLI is the creation of Let’s Innovate, a start-up in Pakistan, where only 3 percent of households have cars, and people are therefore far more likely to drive a motorcycle. This is a big deal because almost half of all deaths on the world’s roads are among those with the least protection – motorcyclists, cyclists, and pedestrians.
HELLI, the helmet could really save lives in India and similar countries where wearing a helmet and subsequent laws regarding it are ignored by many riders even if it is urged by the civic authorities. This ignorance leads to loss of almost 1,37,000 people annually.
“We started developing this for two key reasons,” Waqas Khalil, managing director of Let’s Innovate, told Digital Trends. “The first one is the fact that a few of our team members use motorbikes to commute, and it was almost impossible to get hold of them while they were commuting. We looked at the options available and everything was either too expensive or way too basic. So, we thought let’s develop a helmet that would solve the connectivity problem, but also at the same time increase rider safety. This is where we started incorporating emergency SMS, rider heart rate, and health systems into the helmet using a companion app.”
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The product is set to be launched in mid-2018 and is in the beta phase currently. It is being actively tested to ensure safety and quality of the product. The shape and strength of the helmets are being improved as the tests are in the process. It's not only the call and text feature that's there in the helmet, a speaker, a microphone, a Bluetooth receiver for transferring calls through them, a GPS tracker and even a heart rate monitor, and even a camera in the front (like a dash cam), all of it is embedded smartly in the body. Talking about the price. The product is likely to go up in the market for a price of $50 (INR 3250 roughly). Yes, you read that right. This smart helmet would only cost you around 3000 bucks. The helmet would go up to a max of up to $99 for the top variant with all the bells and whistles.
This is not the first time that we've come across a smart helmet. Earlier, Skully came up with a smart helmet in 2013 that could do similar things but cost its buyers a $1,000. The product was never made as the company failed financially. Given the possibility for HELLI to save lives, let’s hope it can manage to deliver on all its promises in India as the company plans to deliver its product overseas.
Watch the promo of the helmet here: https://youtu.be/_nwp87mcwpk
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