Next Generation of Safety Helmets - Twiceme x Konstfack

In a joint research and development project, Twiceme Technology in collaboration with engineers and design students from and KTH Royal Institute of Technology and Konstfack, Sweden’s largest University for design and arts, explored what the smart safety helmet of the future could look like.

‍The project

At Twiceme, we strive to make people safer by innovating for the safety of tomorrow - and always do our best to find new ways of getting there. That is why we collaborated with KTH and Konstfack in our latest research and development project. In the fall of 2021, engineers from KTH Royal Institute of Technology were asked to update and improve Twiceme Technology’s hardware catalogue with the goal to enable the best possible user experience. This was done in co-operation with Konstfack, who were assigned to the second part of the project - the mission to explore a design concept that would be in line with the construction industry becoming smart in the future. A team of design students from Konstfack were invited to explore a design concept of the safety helmet of the future.

Taking into account all the people circulating on a construction site, the design students addressed the questions: What should a helmet feel like? What should it communicate? What are users looking for? Which one is the best-selling model? And why? Through repeated clay and sketching workshops, they found a design concept that was in line with the on forehand formulated insights that the future of personal protective equipment is smart.  ‍

The result‍

Three design concepts were narrowed down to a combination of the two of the models. The recessed top surface was meant to be a notch or dent where the user would place their phone to scan the integrated device. It would also add rigidity to the oval shape. The front visor protects from rain and other elements. Konstfack's design idea was later digitally refined by the students at KTH, who did the final touch on the conceptual helmet to meet the certification requirements for a safety helmet.

A safety helmet of the future was developed. Fully tailored to a smart construction sector, the design concept was completely unique and unlike anything ever seen before.

Konstfack’s design students are creative, forward-thinking, and equipped with tools and methods for solving complex tasks. Working with them has given us vital insights into what the future of safety helmets could look like. Thank you all!

‍Construction - A changing industry‍

Protective equipment in the construction industry is undergoing a major change - the same change that protective equipment in the sports industry underwent a few years ago - and higher demands are being placed on what personal protective equipment that is being used. According to an industry professional through Safety and Health Magazine, one of the trends in the construction segment is the shift from traditional hard hats to industrial safety helmets.