Helmet of the day

The toaster helmets, the lense helmet, the meat helmet, the masticator, the Brain Tumour helmets with Microwaves, the prayer helmet... I thought i had seen them all. I was wrong! Tim Simpson has designed a nifty Smile Helmet for people in jobs which demand an unusual amount of smiling, such as air-stewards, receptionists and politicians.

When the sensor in the front of the helmet detects anybody within a 2 metre range, the mouth is pulled into a broad grin by a small servo motor and some fishing wire. The helmet addresses the facades of social interaction and explores our responses to affected expressions.

Tim Simpson's work is part of the Design Mart exhibition at the Design Museum in London, until 7 January 2007.

Via plus six.

Other works by Tim Simpson: Natural Deselection, an instrument that empowers plants to control the fate of others and Subversive Sightseeing, a coin operated public telescope that digitally superimposes epic fictions onto the London landscape.