Honestly, I'm not a big fan of technical "innovation." Not everything needs to be improved upon or given WiFi. In fact, oftentimes, I find that they add complexity for complexity's sake, leading to failures, borked operation, or just generally making what was simple that much more of a pain in the ass.
My wife and I once saved up for a Sleep Number adjustable bed and we both hated that thing so much, a year into ownership, we snagged a cheap, regular old mattress just to be done with the constant electrical gremlins or fussiness of regular use.
I just want the damn thing to work and not always have to update an app or worry that water has somehow seeped into the control mechanisms for something that's supposedly waterproof. But that's the vibes I get from Autoliv's new patent, which purportedly shows a self-adjusting motorcycle helmet chin strap.
Why do we need this when the regular-old D-loop works and works perfectly, I don't freakin' know.
Discovered by our good friends over at Visordown, who don't always give us credit for when they cite us (Hi, folks!), the Autoliv patent clearly shows a motorcycle helmet's chin strap. But tucked inside the helmet's shell, there's a whirring little electrical mechanism that apparently cinches the chinstrap for the rider.
The chinstrap itself, however, looks to follow a seatbelt-esque design, with a clip that engages the mechanism and tightens automatically. Visordown also points out that it's unclear how the system doesn't just choke you out, though there's likely a pressure sensor built into the system. At least, I hope there would be.
That said, people's preferred pressures are different. There are times I want a little tighter of a strap, while other times when I want looser. How you preset those for different riders across age groups, statures, weights, and genders is unclear, too.
But more than anything, who exactly is this for? What solution does this solve? How is this better than a D-loop or even the ratcheting system that's become more common lately? Honestly, I don't think it is, as it's adding complexity while removing potentially life-saving impact absorption because you're adding some electrical mechanisms into the helmet's shell.
Who's exactly asking for this? I'm sure as hell not. This feels a lot like that strapless motorcycle helmet we talked about a few weeks back. But what do you all think? Is this solve something you've seen or felt? Or is this just an idea that should die on the vine? Let us know in the comments below.
