New helmet tech acts as a second skull, skin and all

Helmets have been around since the first time some cave dweller put a coconut shell on his dome to protect against sabre-tooth tiger attacks. But lately, they seem to have stalled somewhat. I mean, bike helmets appear to be more or less the same as they were when I was a kid, and motorcycle helmets seem to have stayed the same for the better part of the century. But there has been an advance, or so a UK-based design firm claims.

The advance is a second layer on top of your usual shock-absorbing shell, but of a thin skin-like material, and a buffer of jelly in between. Sounds kind of gross, doesn’t it? Yeah, and guess what it’s there for — essentially, it is meant to shift along the outside and, if necessary, tear away. This prevents twisting forces from being transferred to your head.

So basically, it’s a second skull. I think it’s pretty cool-looking, though. They call it the Superskin, and it should be available this summer from helmet manufacturer Lazer.

[via Core77]

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