This Is Not an Interrogation Device, Just a Super-Safe Bike Helmet

It may look like a radioactive Chambered Nautilus has put a death-grip on your cranium, but the builders of this LumaHelm bike helmet see a universe of possibility in its bizarre galactic light-shell.

The helmet is the latest piece of quirky tech to float out of the Exertion Games Lab at Melbourne's RMIT University, also the mother of that flying robot that motivates shiftless joggers. What is it, precisely? At the simplest level it's a regular helmet to which the researchers have applied strips of multicolored LEDs. These strips are linked to a microcontroller board that gives the wearer the ability to activate certain lights individually or in eye-catching groups. An onboard accelerometer torn out of a Wii Nunchuk allows lights to be activated with movement of the head. Finally, a thick block of batteries that may or may not promote neck strain keeps the whole array running for hours of futuristic commuting.