While flying or flight helmets like these are great way to not only look like a cyborg, but to get some upgrades such as helmet-mounted display systems, I'd still prefer it if they had more appealing paint jobs. [Oobject]

This week, Gizmodo is exploring the enhanced human future in a segment we call This Cyborg Life. It's about what happens when we treat our body less as a sacred object and more as what it is: Nature's ultimate machine.

Other features include an EverClear No-Fog faceshield and an anti-scratch retractable SpeedView sun visor. Truth be told, this certainly isn't the first modular helmet out there. However, at $270-$280 the Scorpion would be far cheaper than something like BMW's System 6—although the latter has advanced noise canceling features and integrated Bluetooth. [Scorpion via Jalopnik]

It's a good idea, and combined with this technology, which monitors the force of impacts to the head, we could soon see the perfect helmet to make football an all-around safer activity. If that's what we want to do.

I can't be more clear: I don't like seeing kids dying out on the football field, or afterward because no one knew how badly they were injured or overheated. But the sporting culture seems to demand human sacrifice.

Why do pro boxers eschew the helmet that amateur Olympian pugilists are required to wear? Why are there entire insanely funny movies devoted to the fact that hockey got boring when it eased up on rink bloodshed? And why is it that most people only remember the car races where somebody flips up into the catchfence and scatters debris into the grandstand? Think it over. [PopSci]

The creatures found on these handmade helmets were created by a Brazilian artist who affixed bones, teeth and "fine stones" found in the Amazon to a standard open-faced motorcycle helmet. Despite their appearance, the artist claims that the helmets are DOT approved—although I certainly wouldn't want to rely on one skidding along the pavement at 50 mph. Still, you cant beat the $99 price tag if you want a real menacing look without having to endure the permanence and pain of a sleeve of tattoos. [Craigslist via Jalopnik]

Well OK, maybe your actual car/razor scooter isn't quite as outlandish as your brick-based creations, but it's the spirit of the minifig that counts, right? Then again, there's probably only one (maybe three and a half, who knows!) of these helmets in existence, which means YOU probably won't get to live vicariously as a minifig either. Sorry to get your hopes up. [Designboom via BB Gadgets]

Designed by Dr Gordon Dougal, apparently just a GP, the helmet bombards the patient with intense waves of infrared light for a few minutes a day to stimulate growth of brain cells. The device will undergo clinical trial 'soon', but the doctor sees promise:

Sir Terry used the helmet for about three months. Over that period there was a small improvement. Not significant, which was a bit disappointing, but it didn’t get any worse.

One mildly positive report is basically meaningless when it comes to treatments like this, but for the sake of the good Knight (and the aesthetic future of medicine—look at this thing!) I hope it works. [Dailymail via BoingBoing Gadgets]

Basically, the future helmets only get busted out during big time Olympic competitions for, unsurprisingly, the aesthetics. They simply display the exact same signal that's been showing up on the scorer's desk for decades using the same type of electrical system, says Giz fan Michael from fencing supply kings fencing.net. A simple open-closed circuit detects a charge from the weapon, and sends a signal to the scorekeeper indicating a hit. The systems for the individual swords (foil, epee, saber, etc) vary slightly in terms of which body parts count, and what constitutes a "hit," but all use the same basic setup. The LEDs on the mask help the referee make quicker scoring calls and allow the duelers to know when a hit has been made instantly. Sort of a shame that they're aren't actually T1000-style heads-up displays or something, but hey, they get an important job done better than in the past.
The system used to require tethers snaking back behind the fencers, but now a cigarette-pack sized transmitter handles the whole thing wirelessly.
So back to the original statement. I want one. What would you do with your fencing future helmet? I'm seeing some crazy hacking potential in those LEDs.

Check out Big Picture for tons more shots. [Big Picture - Thanks, Michael!]

The Xenith X1 has just received approval from the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE), so we could be seeing these helmets on the sensitive melons of unfortunate athletes like Miami's Trent Green sometime in the near future. [NY Times via Core77]

The MS-06S Zaku costs 23,800 ($205) and it's on sale now. [LaLaBitMarket via ToysRevil'sILikeToys]

Folding helmet [Coolest-Gadgets]

This jeans-like style is just one of a dozen choices, bringing the serious Thermo Resin protection along with anti-sweat fabric inside. A mere $200 protects your noggin from knockin', and now you can put on a pair of jeans, a jean jacket and this helmet and have that denim look all over. Hey, it gives new meaning to the term "butthead." – Charlie White

Nexx X60 Open Face Motorcycle Helmets [Be Sportier]

Wireless Helmets Monitor Head Injuries [Medgadget]

Plantronics Puts Bluetooth into Quiksilver/Roxy Apparel [MobileWhack]

A helmet for people in jobs which demand an unusual amount of smiling, such as air-stewards, receptionists and politicians. A sensor in the front of the helmet detects anybody within a 2 metre range, at which point the mouth is pulled into a broad grin by a small servo motor and some concealed fishing wire. The helmet addresses the facades of social interaction and explores our responses to affected expressions.

Also useful for the studio audience of Two and a Half Men. – Jason Chen

Smile Helmet [Tim Simpson via MAKE]

[Look for it in stores, website to be announced]

Motorcycle Helmet With Bone Conduction Speakers [New Launches]