Australian Student Designs First 'RoboCop' Helmet of the Future for Police Officers

Police officers in motorcycles may soon find themselves owning a RoboCop helmet, thanks to Aussie student Alfred Boyadgis.

Mr Boyadkis is a 23-year-old student who designed a high-tech helmet for motorcycle cops. The "RoboCop" helmet displays information in the visor and combines various technologies currently available at arm's length.

The high-tech helmet is designed to boost response times during emergency situations and help save more lives. Mr Boyadkis' design has already caught the attention of the Chief of Police at the U.S. state of Florida's Coral Gables. Local authorities in Florida want to test the helmet on field to see if it will also be useful in tactic response deployment.

Mr Boyadgis also revealed he is currently in discussion with Australia's NSW Police Traffic and Highway Patrol Command. He said the helmet has no direct electronics inside. The helmet is comparable to smartphones in terms of bringing the benefit of high technology to the user. He said the luxuries of technology should also be with motorcycle riders.

Riders still use GPS devices strapped to their bodies. Mr Boyadkis said riders have no ability to communicate with each other in a safe way.

The helmet that look like it's straight out of a science-fiction movie is named Forcite with a "heads up" display containing vital information. RoboCop is the 1987 American science fiction action film directed by Paul Verhoeven. The wearer of the helmet can clearly see information and command the device to turn on the GPS by voice.

The display will also link with the automatic number-plate recognition system used by the police force. The system helps identify registration details of vehicles and checks if there are any violations committed by drivers.

Mr Boyadkis further explained that an officer can simply look at the number plate for about five seconds and the display will automatically show details such as registration, previous records of violations or criminal liabilities.

Police officers can also communicate with one another using the built-in automatic radio channel and frequency tuner. Officers can talk to local authorities, contact a nearby hospital to send an ambulance to the scene or call the fire department. Another system can also be used to send live video recordings back to the station.

If officers will use the helmet Mr Boyadgis designed, it will help increase their vision and impact safety by 65 per cent since the helmet contains a semi-modular visor system.

Forcite is made of D3 polyurethane designed to make the helmet safer. According to Mr Boyadgis, helmets today are not properly made since wearing them feels like wearing styrofoam. They are not designed to absorb impact unlike the Forcite helmet which is specially designed to protect wearer's head and reduce maximum impact in case of a motorcycle accident.

Forcite was featured at the LuminoCITY design exhibition at UNSW in November 2012. The helmet is now on exhibit at the Red Dot Museum in Singapore. Mr Boyadgis' prototype has been shortlisted as one of the top 30 designs out of 300,000 entries in the Red Dot Design Awards.