Sensor required for installation in helmet

Thread Starter

Divya9999

Joined May 5, 2025
18
Without knowing the purpose the product, it is only guesswork to make any suggestion, since I don’t know what is important.

But here goes:

Put an RFID reader in the helmet and embed an RFlD chip in the rider’s skull. Make sure to use rilling codes, do that the RFID cannot be duplicated on melon. This will offer at least some immunity ti attempts to defeat it. But it will still be vulnerable to the user digging the chip out of his scalp and installing it in a melon.

Yes, this is a silly answer. But you have given me no reason to think your question is not silly.
I dont know why you are taking my requirement in a silly way , If possible suggest me a sensor which can be easily installed into a helmet and the purpose of the sensor is just to track whether the person is wearing the helmet . If he / she puts the helmet on the sensor should send a signal either through bluetooth or wifi to an application installed in the mobile phone of the person
 

Ya’akov

Joined Jan 27, 2019
10,240
I thought this was electronics forum, not entrepreneur consulting website.

I understand that some people are not clear what they want and usually whoever wants to help them has to ask 10 more questions, but the guy wants a sensor that could be mountable (and removable???) on a helmet.
Welcome to AAC.

A common mistake made by new product designers is to imagine that any part of the system can be specified outside the context of the entire system. Sometimes it is impossible to even select a component like this, other times it may seem possible, but doing so creates an artificial constraint that will force your design to pivot around it as a fixed point.

Doing this just once may be workable (maybe you have a million of a part and need a product to recover your costs, so you design something for the purpose of using that part. But that's not the situation you are in. You have an idea—helmet compliance tracking—and you need a way to know if the user is wearing the helmet.

For whatever reason you have assumed there is "a sensor" that will work for that. This is an unwarranted assumption. You may need a pair, or even array of sensors not avoid spurious indications. Then there is the problem of helmet certification.

You can't just "put a sensor" into a motorcycle helmet. Helmets are rigorously certified and putting anything in the helmet that isn't part of the certification voids it.

Getting your device certified for use in helmets would probably require doing it for every helmet you wanted to be able to support—and it might require having the manufacturer pre-install the sensor (leaving the electronics outboard somehow, or creating a compartment that would accommodate it.

Then there is the problem of knowing exactly what you can measure to be sure the person is actually wearing the helmet. The will require a great deal of research. Extensive testing to ensure that your chosen measurement is reliable in practice will be needed.

It is also important to understand why you are making the product. It is a bit of a mystery why anyone would want this, what does it provide? If the purpose is a compulsory legal record, then you have the problem of users wanting to bypass the system and have to choose some detection method that is hard to bypass.

I can go on, but you get the idea. You need a specification document, something that includes a narrative of how the product will be used, and why. Then it is possible for the people here with extensive experience in creating working systems can help you make informed decisions.

Are you a student? This sounds like a capstone project.
 

Ya’akov

Joined Jan 27, 2019
10,240
I dont know why you are taking my requirement in a silly way , If possible suggest me a sensor which can be easily installed into a helmet and the purpose of the sensor is just to track whether the person is wearing the helmet . If he / she puts the helmet on the sensor should send a signal either through bluetooth or wifi to an application installed in the mobile phone of the person
The one aspect of this project that is almost certain even with the very limited information is that the communication between the helmet system and the phone will be via BLE. There is really no other sensible option in the current market.
 

KeithWalker

Joined Jul 10, 2017
3,607
Thanks for writing back again . Mounting and all i think it can be possible by installing the sensor using a glue type material into the helmet . Can you just explain me how a micro switch will transmit the data to a mobile application saying that helmet is put on by the person
You specifically asked for recommendations for a sensor. A micro switch is a sensor. How it transmits data to a mobile application will depend on what the application is, and what you decide to use for a transmitter. Are you asking us to design the whole project for you? See Post #5.
 

LowQCab

Joined Nov 6, 2012
5,101
A common mistake made by new product designers is to imagine that any part of the system can be specified outside the context of the entire system. Sometimes it is impossible to even select a component like this, other times it may seem possible, but doing so creates an artificial constraint that will force your design to pivot around it as a fixed point.
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WOW !!!!
You Sir are a Diplomat of the highest caliber.

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Thread Starter

Divya9999

Joined May 5, 2025
18
Welcome to AAC.

A common mistake made by new product designers is to imagine that any part of the system can be specified outside the context of the entire system. Sometimes it is impossible to even select a component like this, other times it may seem possible, but doing so creates an artificial constraint that will force your design to pivot around it as a fixed point.

Doing this just once may be workable (maybe you have a million of a part and need a product to recover your costs, so you design something for the purpose of using that part. But that's not the situation you are in. You have an idea—helmet compliance tracking—and you need a way to know if the user is wearing the helmet.

For whatever reason you have assumed there is "a sensor" that will work for that. This is an unwarranted assumption. You may need a pair, or even array of sensors not avoid spurious indications. Then there is the problem of helmet certification.

You can't just "put a sensor" into a motorcycle helmet. Helmets are rigorously certified and putting anything in the helmet that isn't part of the certification voids it.

Getting your device certified for use in helmets would probably require doing it for every helmet you wanted to be able to support—and it might require having the manufacturer pre-install the sensor (leaving the electronics outboard somehow, or creating a compartment that would accommodate it.

Then there is the problem of knowing exactly what you can measure to be sure the person is actually wearing the helmet. The will require a great deal of research. Extensive testing to ensure that your chosen measurement is reliable in practice will be needed.

It is also important to understand why you are making the product. It is a bit of a mystery why anyone would want this, what does it provide? If the purpose is a compulsory legal record, then you have the problem of users wanting to bypass the system and have to choose some detection method that is hard to bypass.

I can go on, but you get the idea. You need a specification document, something that includes a narrative of how the product will be used, and why. Then it is possible for the people here with extensive experience in creating working systems can help you make informed decisions.

Are you a student? This sounds like a capstone project.
 

Thread Starter

Divya9999

Joined May 5, 2025
18
First of all thank you for detailed explanation. My point of posting this thread is i want to track how many kilometres a person is travelling by wearing a helmet through a mobile application. For the application to track the genuine data it will be requiring a sensor to send a signal to the application the total time when the helmet is put on . Here in my question i have clearly stated that installation of the sensor should be a hassle free process either by using a glue or a Velcro which doesn't disturb the made of the helmet . When comes to the use case of sensor it will be only used to track whether the person is putting the helmet or not .
 

Thread Starter

Divya9999

Joined May 5, 2025
18
You specifically asked for recommendations for a sensor. A micro switch is a sensor. How it transmits data to a mobile application will depend on what the application is, and what you decide to use for a transmitter. Are you asking us to design the whole project for you? See Post #5.
I am not asking you to design any projects for me iam just asking to suggest a sensor which can serve my purpose . TIA
 

BobTPH

Joined Jun 5, 2013
11,524
I am not asking you to design any projects for me iam just asking to suggest a sensor which can serve my purpose . TIA
How, when you have refused to tell us what the purpose is? If the purpose is to enforce helmet compliance, as @Ya’akov assumes, then it must be secure against tampering. That is very different from what you have asked for. Simply putting a sensor in the helmet that determines if there is an object inside is laughably easy to defeat.

If that is the purpose, I would propose a retina scanner.
 
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KeithWalker

Joined Jul 10, 2017
3,607
I am not asking you to design any projects for me iam just asking to suggest a sensor which can serve my purpose . TIA
We have recommended a sensor as you requested - a microswitch. You then asked "Can you just explain me how a micro switch will transmit the data to a mobile application saying that helmet is put on by the person".
A microswitch is a sensor. It supplies a closed contact signal when the lever is compressed past a pre determined position. It does not transmit data to a mobile application. For that, you will need a data transmitter. We can not recommend a transmitter until we know exactly what the mobile application is, and what is the protocol of data it expects to receive.
See Post #5
From your posts, I'm getting the impression that this project is the pipe dream of someone who does not understand basic electrical and electronic theory and has no idea how data communication works. Can you convince me that I am wrong?
 
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meth

Joined May 21, 2016
304
@Ya'akov I completely understand your point, but sometimes I feel on this forum there are endless questions Why? Why? Why?
As pointed in previous post sometimes people have unclear requests.
In this case it is clear that the TS needs a way to detect that the helmet is mounted.
Later he pointed out that gluing the sensor is an option.
No reason for endless WHY WHY WHY WHY. It is his project, he probably have thought about the feasibility of it. If he fails, HE fails, not you. He will not go bankrupt if he spends 50-100 dollars to try something new. Even if it fails he will end up smarter from most of us about one thing, because he has tried that and we have never.

Thanks for writing back again . Mounting and all i think it can be possible by installing the sensor using a glue type material into the helmet . Can you just explain me how a micro switch will transmit the data to a mobile application saying that helmet is put on by the person
Microswitch(es) with a battery pack connected to Bluetooth/WiFi module.
 
I would install the UV Led and photodiode like in drawing.
Drive the led with short pulses like 1ms On and 1sec Off to lower the batt. draining. It decreases the batt. drain by 1000.
On other side build a resettable monostable circuit, so if photodiode catches the pulses the monostable circuit is cycling (helmet off), if doesn’t catches the pulses the monostable is not cycling (helmet on).

IMG_2031.jpeg
 

LowQCab

Joined Nov 6, 2012
5,101
Because engineering is not about solving a lot of little problems, throwing them together, and hoping it works. Engineering is about solving one big problem. Context is always important.
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I, unfortunately in this case, am very pessimistic about this particular Thread,
and have refrained from responding for that very reason.

If there was a universally useful demand for this type of project,
it would already be commercially available.

As far as I'm concerned, there's no valuable use for this project other than
a cool idea for making Money,
with all sorts of undesirable negative-outcomes created by
it's use, or misuse, or failure, that are possible, or even likely to occur.

I won't assist with a project that is poorly conceived,
by someone who has shown no effort to research the consequences and ramifications of
such a device, and in addition has no idea of what might be involved with it's development.

If I see ( read ), what appear to me to be "Red-Flags",
I have the choice of doing nothing, or pointing them out.

I like helping People where I can,
but I'm not "desperate" to help anyone.

.
.
.
 

BobTPH

Joined Jun 5, 2013
11,524
As far as I'm concerned, there's no valuable use for this project other than
a cool idea for making Money,
with all sorts of undesirable negative-outcomes created by
it's use, or misuse, or failure, that are possible, or even likely to occur.
Yep.
 

Thread Starter

Divya9999

Joined May 5, 2025
18
I would install the UV Led and photodiode like in drawing.
Drive the led with short pulses like 1ms On and 1sec Off to lower the batt. draining. It decreases the batt. drain by 1000.
On other side build a resettable monostable circuit, so if photodiode catches the pulses the monostable circuit is cycling (helmet off), if doesn’t catches the pulses the monostable is not cycling (helmet on).

View attachment 348777
Thanks for suggesting this will look into it further
 

Thread Starter

Divya9999

Joined May 5, 2025
18
Hi in our country the number of people wearing helmets while driving motorcycle is less than 5% so i want to create an application which incentives people for wearing helmet regularly . In order for me to track whether the person is wearing helmet while driving requires a sensor which gives exact data . This is my requirement
 

Thread Starter

Divya9999

Joined May 5, 2025
18
.
I, unfortunately in this case, am very pessimistic about this particular Thread,
and have refrained from responding for that very reason.

If there was a universally useful demand for this type of project,
it would already be commercially available.

As far as I'm concerned, there's no valuable use for this project other than
a cool idea for making Money,
with all sorts of undesirable negative-outcomes created by
it's use, or misuse, or failure, that are possible, or even likely to occur.

I won't assist with a project that is poorly conceived,
by someone who has shown no effort to research the consequences and ramifications of
such a device, and in addition has no idea of what might be involved with it's development.

If I see ( read ), what appear to me to be "Red-Flags",
I have the choice of doing nothing, or pointing them out.

I like helping People where I can,
but I'm not "desperate" to help anyone.

.
.
.
Hi in our country the number of people wearing helmets while driving motorcycle is less than 5% so i want to create an application which incentives people for wearing helmet regularly . In order for me to track whether the person is wearing helmet while driving requires a sensor which gives exact data . This is my requirement
 

Thread Starter

Divya9999

Joined May 5, 2025
18
How, when you have refused to tell us what the purpose is? If the purpose is to enforce helmet compliance, as @Ya’akov assumes, then it must be secure against tampering. That is very different from what you have asked for. Simply putting a sensor in the helmet that determines if there is an object inside is laughably easy to defeat.

If that is the purpose, I would propose a retina scanner.
 
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