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 DfT Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy has £21.2bn over 2 years pledged for infrastructure and active travel projects with the ambition to double cycling for short journeys by 2025\. Although cycling has proven health benefits, cyclists are the most vulnerable of road users and in 2020 UK data shows 141 were killed and 16,294 seriously injured on the roads with fatality and injury rates per billion miles of 28 and 3240 respectively compared to 3 and 307 for cars. Swedish data shows that head and skull trauma account for 26% of all serious cycling injuries with a 42% rate of severe impairment. Work at Imperial shows that current helmet test standards are limited as they only consider linear impacts and not rotational impacts shown to contribute towards traumatic brain injuries (TBI).

UK Helmet usage rates are typically only 20%. Practical reasons commonly cited for not wearing helmets include carriage and storage between journeys particularly when commuting, discomfort i.e., too hot, or cold, uncomfortable, or heavy. There is a clear need for a cycling safety helmet that can be stored compactly between uses. Our solution is VENTETE, a cycle helmet with a lightweight inflatable structural system that when deflated occupies 1/10 of its original volume and provides superior cooling compared to conventional helmets. BSI test data shows that VENTETE exceeds current standards and is best-in-class for linear impacts. Work at Imperial shows the existing VENTETE concept also performs highly under rotational impact loads.

The objective of this collaborative project between VENTETE, Adreco and Imperial College is to build upon the VENTETE concept and develop a class leading design that will perform exceptionally in rotational impact tests. It will meet or exceed the anticipated additional standard under discussion by ISO for introduction in 1-2 years' time.