In a first of its kind, Sandeep Dahiya, a Bengaluru based mechanical engineer has designed a portable attachment for a helmet that can be adjusted to blow in hot or cool air.
This helmet attachment is named Vatanukul – Hindi for air-condition, and can be carried around in a small backpack strapped to the riders back. This new attachment is especially desirable considering the varying temperatures in India.
The accompanying video shows details of this new gadget and how it works. It adds just 125 gms to the helmet weight and the backpack weighs 1800 gms. Below is the detailed video explaining the working of the helmet AC.
There is a plug connecting the unit to the two wheeler’s battery supply unit. There is a controller for adjusting the temperature. When put into cooling mode, the light turns blue and the temperature drops to the set temperature while in heating mode, the light is red and temperature can be increased to the most comfortable level, depending on the setting.
The system works on a DC power supply of 12 volts which is supplied by the battery of the bike and does not require any other external energy. The wire connection is made from the Vatanukul to the bike battery while the temperatures can be set depending on the rider’s needs, for heating or cooling which can be alternated with a flick of the switch.
Sandeep is the director of a multinational company but is also a keen inventor of user friendly products. He designed this AC helmet in the garage turned workshop at his home in RT Nagar in Bengaluru.
The final product is a result after designing 8 different models in the past four and half years. His inspiration came from seeing riders who take off their helmets at traffic signals as the helmets with visors offer little air circulation and could get suffocating at times.
His new AC helmet comes in at the right time when the new traffic regulations are in effect so that riders cannot offer any excuses as to feeling too hot or too cold as reasons for not wearing a helmet.