Air quality, carbon emissions, health, wellbeing, and road congestion are serious issues facing British society and active travel i.e. walking and cycling is a key DfT strategy to improve them all. The statutory Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy has already received £1.2bn and a further £1.2bn over 2 years is pledged for infrastructure and active travel projects with the ambition to double cycling for short journeys by 2025\. Other initiatives for shared bicycle schemes e.g. "Boris bike" in London have proved popular in congested cities.

The COVID-19 pandemic has seen increased government financial support for cycling for commuting to promote as "green as possible" recovery; a 5% growth in cycling means 8m fewer car journeys, 9 million less rail journeys and 13 million less bus journeys. Cycling is open to anyone irrespective of gender, age, ethnicity, and a wide range of abilities. Although cycling has proven health benefits, cyclists are vulnerable when involved in accidents either by themselves or with other road users and even though cycle helmets are known to reduce serious head and facial trauma, helmet use in the UK is typically 60% and in other European countries can range from 15% to 50%. Where helmet wearing has been made compulsory, there is a notable reduction in cycle usage.

One reason commonly cited for not wearing helmets is carriage and storage between journeys particularly when commuting and clearly there's a need for a cycling safety helmet that can be folded and stored compactly between use. Our solution is airHEAD, a cycle helmet which is not only lightweight but when folded occupies a small volume, 1/10 the size of the full unit. We've manufactured a proof of concept prototype and testing at BSI shows that it meets or exceeds impact test standards to an exceptional level. The purpose of this project is to develop a production prototype prior to commercialisation. The helmet is offered in 4 sizes which are adjustable and designed to be inclusive for all members of the cycling community.