Mips – adding motorcycle helmet safety through innovation

This article will explain everything you need to know with the help of Stockholm-based Mips. Through its patented safety systems, Mips’ vision is to reduce head injuries and save more lives, which they are working on through research, testing, and innovation. The Mips® safety system is meticulously designed to provide added safety in many common motorcycling accidents by mitigating the dangers of rotational motion through a low friction layer that is designed to help redirect rotational motion away from the head in certain angled impacts.

The employee turnover rate at Mips is very low, which speaks volumes about the company and is largely due to the safety systems that Mips creates. For the employees at Mips, it's all about the vision to save lives. This noble idea alone ensures that all the employees I met and spoke with at Mips in Sweden are enthusiastic and driven in their jobs. It's no surprise that Mips now offers an extensive portfolio of safety systems for helmets across all areas of use after nearly 30 years of persistent research and development into helmet safety. Although motorcycle helmets currently make up only a small percentage compared to the main players, bicycle and ski helmets, Mips CEO Max Strandwitz explains in the following interview that this is set to change in the near future.

Max Strandwitz: Mips is the name of the company and we are the innovators of the original system designed to address rotational motion in helmets, the Mips safety system. This system comes into play in angled impacts involving the helmet. The primary goal is to compensate for the rotation that occurs in almost all impacts, so that the initial jarring movement is "cushioned." This occurs within 5 to 10 milliseconds—for reference, when you blink, one eye blink takes about 100 milliseconds. The Mips system is intended to allow for 10 to 15 millimeters of movement. Through this movement, the intent is to redirect rotational motion away from the head during those finite milliseconds of impact. Not all helmet manufacturers incorporate this consideration of rotation, and even the current ECE 22.06 standard does not address it to the extent we desire, at least not yet.

Founded by neurosurgeon Hans von Holst together with researchers Peter Halldin and Svein Kleiven Mips was established after von Holst repeatedly observed brain injuries from accidents, even though the person had worn a helmet. A long process began in 1995, before Mips AB was founded in 2001. By 2015, Mips was profitable for the first time, and since then, it has fortunately and, in my opinion, deservedly been on a steep upward trajectory. The work on computer modeling, simulating how the brain works, is becoming increasingly important and by using the finite element method, we can derive plausible insights from computer simulations even before physical crash tests. This saves a tremendous amount of time and effort. Currently, Mips employs around 110 people, including 60 engineers. We have 24 people permanently stationed in China, collaborating with helmet manufacturers producing there.

The share of motorcycle helmets equipped with the Mips system in the overall market is rapidly increasing, and we are already collaborating with more than 20 helmet manufacturers. This means that customers are increasingly understanding how important our system could be. However, within the Mips range, it currently accounts for only about 5 percent, with the majority of those being motocross and adventure/enduro helmets. This initially sounds quite logical because off-road riding assumes a higher likelihood of falls - anyone who has ever ridden off-road will probably have experienced at least one, if not several, crashes. Therefore, off-road riders generally wear extensive protective gear and look for safety features that could be provided. The street motorcyclist, on the other hand, is completely different to a very high percentage - it's about freedom and speed. The only touchpoints, exaggeratedly put, are the two wheels and the engine.

Mips is suitable for every rider! Because any impact with even a hint of rotation can have severe consequences. Therefore, it is illogical to believe that you need less protection on the road. On the road, you can crash or be involved in an accident just as easily - and you must be prepared for that. Especially on the road, the likelihood of colliding with other road users is much higher than, for example, in open off-road terrain. The highest probability of colliding with other objects is in the city - I don't accept the argument that speeds in this area aren't that high. We conduct impact tests largely at speeds below 30 km/h and can see significant affects that could cause brain injuries in helmets.

Yes, definitely. Helmet development takes an average of three years and we are already collaborating with other racers. Consequently, there will be an even greater selection of motorcycle helmets with integrated Mips systems available for every helmet buyer in the future. By the way, Aleix rides with the Kabuto F17 Racing with the Mips Integra TX system, which is a very integrated system, incorporated into the actual padding. The helmet meets the particularly stringent requirements of the FIM. Moreover, Mips technology is not only available for expensive helmets but also for models in the lower price segment.

This varies depending on the helmet. Currently, you can expect to pay about 20 to 60 euros more.

In bicycle helmets, we install systems that weigh as little as 7 grams - so it truly doesn't significantly affect the weight. But even the heaviest variant for ski and riding helmets weighs barely more than 50 grams. The systems for motorcycle helmets fall somewhere in between.

Well, I can't go into too much detail, but we're currently building another test lab at our headquarters in Sweden. With this lab we will be able to do further testing and subsequently continue to evolve our Mips safety system. We've also developed a few of our own helmets that we’re currently using for research and development purposes. So far, we’ve found it is better to collaborate with renowned helmet brands, where we integrate our product into other products with the intention of making them even better. More than 12 new moto helmet models will be added this year.

Many thanks to Max Strandwitz for this insightful interview!

Based on the different requirements for motorcycle helmets (full-face helmets clearly differ from motocross helmets, for example), Mips is dedicated to offering solutions that are integrated in a way that doesn’t affect the overall experience and feel of the helmet. Therefore, Mips has developed three highly integrated systems for motorcycle helmets: Mips Integra Fuse, Mips Integra Split and Mips Integra TX

With integration in the manufacturing of the helmet, each respective system of Mips technology can’t always be seen by the naked eye. To be sure a helmet is equipped with the Mips safety system, look for the yellow Mips logo on the back of the helmet.