Qatar’s 2022 World Cup Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy (SC) said it plans to introduce a new solar-powered cooling helmet for workers on its projects during the summer months when temperatures reach 50 degrees centigrade.

The innovative solar-powered helmet, which has been designed and developed by leading researchers in Qatar, has the potential to significantly reduce the skin temperature of construction workers by up to 10 degrees centigrade.

This will allow for safer and more comfortable working conditions in the summer months, according to researchers working on the new system at Qatar University.

The cooling helmet has been rigorously tested, patented worldwide and put through the production stage by a group of Doha-based scientists in cooperation with SC and Aspire Zone Foundation (Aspire). More units have now been ordered with the objective to incorporate them for the coming summer period across SC projects, it stated.

"We were approached by the SC and Aspire with a challenge, and our objective was to reduce heat stress and heat strokes for workers in Qatar and the region during the summer months," said Dr Saud Abdul Aziz Abdul Ghani, professor at the College of Engineering at Qatar University.

"This type of body-based cooling technology has been used before in US sports for training purposes in hot states, but we have now developed this innovative solution for the construction sector and we believe it has the potential to revolutionise the construction industry in hotter areas of the world," explained Dr Ghani.

The researcher, who previously taught at British universities in Nottingham and Manchester, has been working on the project for two years alongside a group of students from Qatar, Jordan, Greece and Egypt, and is co-operating closely with the SC and Aspire on the project in order to implement it on construction sites for the 2022 Fifa World Cup Qatar.

The testing and development took place at the College of Engineering at Qatar University, while the measurement of helmet temperatures in a working environment were done at Khalifa International Stadium.

Explaining the innovative technology, Dr Ghani said: "A solar-powered fan will blow air over a cooled material at the top of the helmet, which will then come down over the front of the person’s face and provide a cooler micro-climate for the worker."

"We are confident that this technology will create more comfortable and safer working conditions, and there is just a minimal increase in weight to the helmet. By reducing the temperature of the head and face, the rest of the body will naturally follow and ensure that workers have a constant flow of cooler air to refresh them throughout their day," stated the research head.

An additional weight of just 300 grams and a small solar panel attached to the helmet ensures that the new product is both safe and effective, he added.

Hilal Jeham Al Kuwari, the SC chairman (technical delivery office), said: "We continue to place workers’ welfare as a top priority across all our construction sites and are working hard to find and develop the most innovative and advanced solutions in our preparations for the 2022 Fifa World Cup in Qatar."

“While this technology is developed and designed in Qatar and will be first used on our sites, we believe it can have a legacy which extends to many other parts of the world which have hot summer climates. This development also confirms our commitment to utilising the impetus of the World Cup to promote innovation and a culture of safety in our region," he added.   

Advanced testing has already taken place on the cooled helmet and the developers have pointed to a number of regions where the technology could also be applied once it goes into mass production.

Abdulaziz Al Mahmoud, the deputy president for Sports Projects at Aspire Zone Foundation (AZF), said: "This is an important initiative and we are proud to be involved in the development of this technology."
 
"Our participation in this project is a demonstration of our AZF’s vision to become the reference for sports excellence worldwide by 2020, and in line with our work values of innovation that we seek in all our projects," he added.-TradeArabia News Service