This research focuses on soft robotic bladders that are used to monitor and control the interaction between a user's head and the shell of a Smart Helmet. Compression of these bladders determines impact dissipation; hence the focus of this paper is sensing and estimation of bladder compression. An IR rangefinder-based solution is evaluated using regression techniques as well as a Neural Network to estimate bladder compression. A Hall-Effect (HE) magnetic sensing system is also examined where HE sensors embedded in the base of the bladder sense the position of a magnet in the top of the bladder. The paper presents the HE sensor array, signal processing of HE voltage data, and then a Neural Network (NN) for predicting bladder compression. Efficacy of different training data sets on NN performance is studied. Different NN configurations are examined to determine a configuration that provides accurate estimates with as few nodes as possible. Different bladder compression profiles are evaluated to characterize IR range finding and HE based techniques in application scenarios.

Disinfecting robots, smart helmets, thermal camera-equipped drones and advanced facial recognition software are all being deployed in the fight against Covid-19 at the heart of the outbreak in China. President Xi Jinping has called on the country's tech sector to help battle the epidemic. Healthcare tech is also being used to identify coronavirus symptoms, find new treatments and monitor the spread of the disease, which has so far infected more than 90,000 people worldwide. But is it up to the job? Several Chinese firms have developed automated technologies for contactless delivery, spraying disinfectants and performing basic diagnostic functions, in order to minimise the risk of cross-infection.

The history of smart motorcycle helmets is a mixed bag, from clip-on heads-up displays to the Skully debacle that ended with a great piece of hardware being cratered by financially irresponsible founders. But technology moves on, and next year a new smart helmet from Jarvish will be vying for the heads of nerdy motorcyclists. The Taiwanese company will be introducing two helmets in the coming year. The first is the $799 Jarvish X, with voice activation and support for Siri, Google Assistant and Alexa. Riders can ask for directions and weather reports, and they can control media playing on their smartphone.