In Pakistan, it is not uncommon to see large families, including children, piled up on a motorbike. Three percent of households have cars, but 43 percent of households have motorcycles, according to the Pew Research Center. The reality is that most Pakistanis cannot afford to buy a car, and motorcycles are a relatively inexpensive alternative. Yet motorcycle accidents are frequently deadly.
This helmet, known as the HELLI, was created by Waqas Khalil, Ali Syed, Awais Azhar, and Syed Abdullah at Let’s Innovate. If a rider falls off the bike, the helmet automatically notifies emergency services nearby using its GPS. It comes equipped with Bluetooth, speakers, a heart rate sensor (which measures the heartbeat from the head via a blood oxygen sensor), and a dashcam on the front of the helmet. It’s also designed to withstand Pakistan’s monsoon rains.
“If you fall off the bike, it sends a text message to your next of kin and calls an ambulance,” said Khalil, who is 30, in a phone interview from Islamabad.
While only 21 percent of Pakistanis have access to mobile data, 67 percent of the population can access a cell phone. To address this issue, HELLI does not rely on mobile data. It instead connects to the phone via Bluetooth and calls the number you have saved in the app.