Cool ride: Bengaluru techie goes on air with new-gen helmet

P K Sundararajan, who has developed a helmet that provides cool air to the rider, will star in a series on HistoryTV18.

The start of a new week is going to have no Monday blues for P K Sundararajan. After all, the city-based engineer and entrepreneur will get to see himself on television as part of season six of HistoryTV18’s factual series, OMG! Yeh Mera India.

The episode, which focuses on India’s history and modern innovations, will feature Sundararajan’s journey with his product: An accessory that acts as an add-on for helmets and provides cool, clean and dust-free air to the rider.

“Who wouldn’t be excited to be on TV?” says Sundararajan. “A startup’s journey is quite hard and getting our story out to people is difficult. But this opportunity has left me feeling fortunate.”

The product is one that would benefit any traffic-weary soul, especially in a city like Bengaluru.

“The idea was to provide car-like comfort to two-wheeler riders. This accessory can be attached to an existing helmet and will provide cold air to the rider,” says founder and CEO of BluArmor launched in March 2018.

Sundararajan worked in the semiconductor industry for 15 years and says the accessory was inspired by a need to design something purely for the Indian market.

“Lighting has undergone a change from 100-watt bulbs to 4-watt LEDs. But air conditioners still aren’t as power-efficient. We wanted to create an efficient micro-cooler,” says the 43-year-old, who has a PhD in electrical and computer engineering from UC, Santa Barbara.  

So far, the company has shipped 13,000 units till date, in almost every state of the country and in 13 countries, including Paraguay, Colombia, Gautemala, Thailand and Indonesia. Currently, Sundararajan is gearing up for the launch of the third-gen of the product, the BLU3 E20, where the temperature of the air flowing into the helmet is as much as 15° Celsius cooler than the ambient temperature.

“It also comes with bluetooth connectivity to provide a voice-interface and hands-free talking,” explains Sundararajan, while speaking of the product that will also win an award at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January, for innovation in in-vehicle entertainment and safety.