Overcoming Challenges Creating A Collapsible Micro Mobility Helmet

With the rapid growth of micro mobility and the increasing use of e-scooters, bikes, and other easily accessible compact means of transportation, the team here at Cameron-Price were approached with a unique challenge – making safety a more attractive prospect to urban commuters. 

With traditional helmets often being a bulky and cumbersome option, many commuters will choose to forgo wearing a helmet, sparking the need for a solution – a collapsible helmet that’s easy to carry and store, whilst not compromising on safety. 

With a significant development budget surpassing £1,000,000, it was an extremely exciting project to become involved in with unique challenges from managing the supplier selection with over 20 suppliers sourced and verified, to fleshing out a product that met a demanding British Standard Test certification and CE accreditation whilst adhering to a brief including price sensitivity and a pleasing end product to users. 

“Cameron-Price have been on a journey with us from prototype through to full-scale production. During the three years this has taken, the commitment of the team and their insistence on high quality work has never wavered. They have guided us every step of the way and are now an extension of our business. Quite simply we wouldn’t have got to market without them.”  

Dom Cotton, Founder & CEO, Newlane

We’ll explore the challenges with designing and manufacturing an exciting solution with end-to-end project management and the requirement for a quick turnaround, and how we were able to meet Newlane’s comprehensive brief.

Challenges of designing a collapsible micro mobility helmet

When approached with the challenge of designing a successful helmet that can be used by urban commuters, there were a few factors to consider:

1. Durability and Safety: Helmets are designed to rigorous safety standards as they’re made to protect a user’s head in the case of an accident, ensuring these safety standards are not only met but also meet the highest standards over the lifespan of the helmet was an important challenge to overcome.
2. Compact Design: The collapsibility of the helmet needs to be functional and user-friendly. It should fold down easily and efficiently, allowing users to store it in a small bag or even a pocket. Achieving this while maintaining the helmet’s essential safety properties is no small feat, whilst also ensuring the mechanism to allow the helmet to collapse doesn’t fail over time.
3. Material Selection: Different polymers offer a wide variety of benefits, choosing the right material for any injection moulding project is crucial. 

Cameron-Price were key in helping with providing insights for material selection, for the micro mobility helmets, a material that was both lightweight and flexible, but also strong enough to withstand impacts was key. It was also crucial for the material to have a long lifespan with climate exposure, so that the helmet wouldn’t degrade over time.

1. User Comfort: It often isn’t just the inconvenience of carrying a bulky helmet but also the comfort that will lead some commuters to choose to forgo one entirely. A comfortable fit with proper padding, adjustable straps, and ventilation were all considerations within the design to offer comfort alongside function.
2. Manufacturing Complexity: Manufacturing a helmet with moving parts and intricate components is more complex than producing a traditional solid helmet. The production process must ensure precision and consistency, particularly when injection moulding plastic components.

To overcome these challenges, a four year development process from nomination to launch was undertaken with over 100 different design iterations to ensure the best possible product was being created was required, along with the development of fifteen moulding tools throughout the process.

In addition to a deep development cycle, rigorous testing was also required for the nature of the product, and with 16 test cycles throughout the UK, Europe, and China, the project was a wholly collaborative effort in which the Cameron-Price engineering and project quality team were able to support in full. 

Addressing key problems; why a collapsible helmet is important

With the challenges of the helmet design considered, the Cameron-Price team also had to understand and address the key problem of why commuters need a collapsible helmet. The key problems to be addressed were:

• Portability: Urban commuters often have little space or carry capacity, making traditional helmets a bulky option. A compact, collapsible design not only solves this problem, but encourages a safe commute where portability is no longer an issue.
• Increased Usage: Many riders opt to forego helmets due to the inconvenience of carrying them. By making helmets easier to store, collapsible designs encourage more frequent use, ultimately enhancing rider safety.
• Space Efficiency: Space is usually limited whether commuting or travelling. A collapsible helmet guarantees that users do not have to compromise valuable pack space for safety gear. 

The benefits of a collapsible helmet

With the design of helmets largely going unchanged for a period of time, the innovation of the collapsible micro mobility helmet not only brings something new to market, but helps to reshape how helmet design may look in the future. Some of the benefits that come with the collapsible design include:

• Convenience: A helmet that collapses and folds away, easy to store in a bag or pocket, and isn’t cumbersome to assemble makes it a convenient option. This is a key aspect in the innovative design aimed especially at urban commuters who often cite convenience as a reason for not wearing a helmet.
• Enhanced Safety: Safety was at the heart of the project, with the increasing use of micro mobility vehicles, the accident risk also increases. Designing a product that was safe above all else was a core factor throughout the process.
• Customizability: Helmet design has to factor the different shapes and sizes of the head, whilst also being adjustable enough to be comfortable on any wearer. The one-size-fits-all design had unique challenges to overcome to ensure the sizing was customizable enough for everyone.

Working alongside Dom and the team at Newlane was an extremely exciting project for the team here at Cameron-Price, and by leveraging innovative design and our expertise, we’re proud to have been part of helping to shape the future for urban commuting. 

Be sure to check out Newlane and their exciting new range of collapsible helmets for urban commuters, and read our case study on the recyclable micro mobility helmet project. With the project successfully launching in September 2024 and generating huge traction throughout social media, the Cameron-Price team are thrilled to have been included in such an exciting project from the very beginning. 

If you’re ready to get started with your own unique, innovative product, get in touch with the team here at  Cameron-Price today for a free initial consultation, and discover how we can turn your concept into reality.