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News

Helmet with a smell

The Fraunhofer Institute for Mechanics of Materials IWM in Freiburg has come up with a helmet that emits a smell when it is damaged. The strength of the smell varies with the amount of damage.

IWM notes that the smallest crack can significantly weaken a helmet’s structural integrity. On the other hand, people often replace their helmets unnecessarily after dropping them on the ground, because they cannot tell whether they are damaged or not.

The smell comes from odoriferous oils enclosed in microcapsules, which are inserted in a thick foil made of polypropylene, fastened to the head gear.

The helmet is still in the testing phase, with no word yet on a commercial release.

Wed 20 Oct 2010

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