Foldable recyclable bike helmet wins James Dyson Award

A foldable, recyclable bike helmet has won the of the 2016 James Dyson Award, an annual global design competition which rewards innovative solutions to real-world problems.

The so-called EcoHelmet is the creation of Isis Schifer, a recent graduate from the Pratt Institute of Design in Brooklyn. Her innovation beat a number of impressive runners-up - including a smart wearable asthma management system and glucose-monitoring contact lenses.

''I imagined this as a bike helmet specifically for bike sharing programs,'' Schiffer told Digital Trends. ''If it's raining in the morning and then nice in the afternoon, and you decide to cycle home as a result, you may not have a helmet with you - and it's not advisable to ride without one. My original idea was to make a helmet that could fold up really small. That then evolved into a helmet that not only could fold up really small, but would also be completely recyclable and low-cost.''

The helmet has biodegradable coating which keeps it rain resistant for up to three hours.

The helmet greatly impressed the UK inventor of vacuum cleaners fame.

''EcoHelmet solves an obvious problem in an incredibly elegant way,'' Dyson said in a statement. ''But its simplicity belies an impressive amount of research and development. I look forward to seeing EcoHelmets used in bike shares across the world.''

According to science writer Mindy Weisberger, ''The James Dyson Foundation announced that Isis Shiffer is the 2016 International Winner of the James Dyson Award for her EcoHelmet Design- a collapsible, biodegradable bike helmet that can be dispensed through vending machines at urban bike –share stations.
 
Schiffer won $45,000 for the win and additionally an amount of $7,500 was awarded to the university where she studied engineering and designed the helmet.