2023 4Rev Awards Nomination – Product Design of the Year V2 – EVERYTHING CONNECTED

Product Name The Armadillo Helmet

Product Website* https://numorpho.org/2023/02/14/the-making-of-the-folding-helmet/

Please describe the product.* Give us your written elevator pitch.
All current helmets suffer from the same problem – bulky packaging adds to transportation costs, warehousing space and environmental waste.

The Armadillo Helmet is a collapsible, 3D printed helmet that revolutionizes the way people ship, store, and carry helmets. When transporting, 6 folded Armadillo Helmets can fit in the same space it would take to package a single traditional helmet enabling significant savings due to its smaller footprint.

This helmet is our testament to Additive Manufacturing, and it personifies our “Born not Built” philosophy to create transformational products and services. With the same or better safety guarantee as other helmets in the market at a fraction of the form factor, the Armadillo Helmet is set to make a serious shift in the protective headgear market.

What problem does this product design address?*

FORM FACTOR
The main problem with traditional helmets is its form factor – a rectangular box to fit a head shaped dome that mostly contains air. Whether it’s for bicyclists, construction workers, military personnel, fire fighters, or even rock climbers, they all suffer from the same bulky shape of the current helmet design.

TRANSPORTATION
From a shipping and warehousing perspective 6 Armadillo helmets in its folded shape can fit in the space of one regular helmet. The issue of size is not solely an end user problem though – when looking at the mid-stream manufacturing process, you can fit 20 armadillo helmets in the same pallet space as 1 traditional helmet coming out of raw manufacturing. This means that less of your production floor, storage, and truck space are taken up by big bulky stacks of helmets.

CUSTOMIZATION
Since it is designed using parametric modeling, it can also be customized to any person’s head by simple scanning of their profile. Utilizing Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) for virtually simulating the safety worthiness of the helmet, we will ensure that the design meets the standards even prior to manufacturing.

CUTTING-EDGE DESIGN
The Armadillo Helmet is a cutting-edge design using the latest technology and manufacturing processes. The Armadillo Helmet not only provides users a safety device, but with the integrated sensors for biomonitoring and visor (with augmented heads up display in the future) and sleek aesthetic, it gives users and sellers alike an air of futurism.

PRODUCTION WASTE
Also, since the folding helmets are additively manufactured (3D printed), the amount of waste is considerably less as compared to traditional subtractive manufacturing techniques. Utilizing new materials and composites is also a plus since it will guarantee safety and meet or exceed regulatory standards.

This allows us to more efficiently maximize every step of the helmet’s journey from raw material to a final packaged good.

How does this design deliver a simple, intuitive, or delightful user experience?*

A NOVEL FORM FACTOR WITH INTUITIVE FOLDING ACTION
Have you ever unfolded a folding chair? Well, this is even easier than that. With its compact size, smooth folding action, and satisfying “chunk” when fully expanded, the Armadillo Helmet is simple, intuitive, and a pleasure to interact with.

All the consumer has to do is pull the collapsed Armadillo Helmet out of their bag, slide it to its fully open position, pop it on their head, attach the chin strap, and they’re done. Safe, easy, and secure in a fraction the size of a traditional helmet.

This is illustrated in the video: https://numorpho.org/2023/02/11/20230210-another-unscripted-helmet-attestment/

How does this design improve the client or manufacturer’s profitability, brand reputation, employee morale, etc.?*

Utilizing parametric modeling, generative design, design for manufacturability, and 3D printing, we created a marquee product that helps both the end consumer as well as the product producers and logistics companies shipping the products.

The benefits of the Armadillo Helmet’s small form factor can be found in every part of a manufacturer’s production journey.

To begin with and starting from the customer’s perspective, since the helmet is 3D printed, it is completely customizable and scalable to any headform by simply scanning the persons head profile.
An added benefit of 3D printing the helmets is that they can be easily manufactured anywhere. This makes it ideal for military and natural disaster relief situations across the globe where helmets can be produced immediately on site in any numbers they may need.

How does this design benefit the greater good? Please consider its effects on society, the environment, culture, the economy, etc.*

Helmets provide safety and security to millions of people all over the world every day. Regardless of the job or activity someone may be doing, we want to make it as logistically simple as possible to get a helmet on that person’s head. Anyone that has held or worn our Armadillo Helmet will tell you, there is no other helmet like it and how easy it is to unfold and wear. Our hope is that this intuitive design, small size, and ease of storage, means we will be able to protect more people across the world from cranial injury.

A more recent development for the Armadillo Helmet came with interest from the military. We are currently collaborating with MxD and our peers from the mHUB ecosystem (NoMo Diagnostics and HabitAware) to embed sensors in the helmet to monitor a warfighter’s full well-being on the front lines. In conjunction with our partners at Markforged, we will be printing these helmets in materials like Kevlar, carbon-fiber reinforced nylon and metal to create a projectile resistant helmet for both civilian and military applications alike. Whether you are a soldier, police officer, or a citizen in danger, the Armadillo Helmet will revolutionize impact resistant headwear.

With the civilian, military, and emergency personnel applications alone, the Armadillo Helmet is already well on its way to shifting the safety equipment paradigm.

Please provide any supporting visual materials for the product.

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