Want a Memory Foam Helmet? Meet the 13-Year-Old Inventor Who Created One

You're never too young to be an inventor.

Imagine riding in the countryside for more than six hours, or 80 kilometres, with a tight helmet; unable to take it off because you'd be in danger of serious injury without it, but struggling to keep it on due to the headaches and general discomfort it causes.

It was during one of these marathon sessions that 13-year-old Victorian endurance horse rider Alison Noble realised she wanted to do something to fix her ill-fitting helmets.

"When you're out riding for ages with a bad-fitting helmet, it gets really uncomfortable," Alison, who just completed Year Seven, explains.

But there's an upside, she says, to the lengthy rides: "I have plenty of time to think."

So, when Samsung's Make My Idea competition was unveiled, it seemed like a natural fit. The competition asked students around Australia to submit ideas for Samsung to assess and choose finalists to create prototypes for.

Alison's first idea was to heat the helmets up and mould them into each owner's head shape but she quickly realised that wasn't the most practical solution.

That's when she thought back to her beloved memory foam pillow. Alison's mum, Kim, remembers how Alison loved the way it squashed down for comfort but bounced back to its original shape. It would make a great material for keeping heads safe and, most importantly for Alison, would be comfortable too.

Once she had her idea, she sent it off to Samsung. "It was a very small idea at first," Alison says, humbly. "The best way to get [the invention] going [is to send it off] to people who know what they're doing."

At the end of November, they revealed the winners from the 5,000 entries, and among them was Alison. 

"This is one of my first ideas," Alison admits. Her mum jumps in to explain that she always comes up with ideas but this was one of the more practical ones.

A prototype has been made with the addition of a sensor that sends a signal to alert someone or emergency services if it has any heavy impact, but it's still just early days.

Alison is excited about the prospect of people using her idea in real life. "It would be good to see people actually being able to use it," she says.

Alison's keen to make other products along the lines of this invention too, helping endurance riders to be more comfortable or just working with more memory foam; her favourite.

At the ripe old age of 13, having only just completed her first year of high school, I'd say she's got a bright future ahead of her.

Photo: Supplied