Industrial - Bachelor
Aeris is an automated helmet cleaning device for shared e-scooters, designed to encourage helmet use by improving hygiene. Mounted on the scooter's stem, it disinfects, sterilises, and dries helmets between rides, reducing upper-body injury risk. By promoting cleanliness, Aeris makes shared micromobility safer, more convenient, and more trusted for all riders.
Over the past 75 years, cities have undergone a phenomenon known as ‘rapid urbanisation.’ In Australia, this has contributed to a 23% increase in average commute times since the start of the 21st century. Personal mobility devices, particularly e-scooters, have recently gained traction as they attempt to alleviate CBD traffic and fast-track the first- and last-kilometre commute for many workers.
During the first two weeks of their deployment in 2018, Lime scooters experienced over 50,000 trips within Brisbane City. But fast-forward five years, and a worrying pattern has emerged: a 300% increase in scooter use matches an almost identical rise in personal mobility injuries. Governance has struggled to keep pace, with reactive regulations and unclear rules leaving riders exposed. Helmet compliance remains low at around 30%, often due to helmets being unavailable, inconvenient, unclean, or perceived as unattractive. Rider factors such as inexperience and intoxication further increase the risk of upper-body, head, and facial injuries, highlighting persistent safety gaps in shared e-scooter use.
Really, there’s less police down the road doing proactive policing and pulling over people, because obviously there’s domestic violence jobs or mental health jobs they’re being called to.
Law Enforcement
I think that not wearing helmets and then going on really fast scooters is a recipe for disaster.
Student Doctor
Riders prioritise control and stability, even when inexperienced, to navigate unexpected conditions safely. E-scooter design should incorporate wider, longer decks, lower centres of mass, improved suspension, and predictable braking and throttle responses. These stability features must balance safety with manoeuvrability to maintain effective rider performance.
Since governance of intoxication and helmet wear is largely based on an opt-in model, regulators and scooter providers must introduce forced use. Opportunities exist for integrating smart technologies such as intoxication screening and helmet-wear detection for riders before and during an e-scooter trip. While this may be circumvented in certain instances, such approaches could alleviate the staffing pressures of the police force in enforcing these laws.
Shared e-scooters offer limited ways for riders to communicate with pedestrians, with bells as the primary mandated warning and some turn signals introduced by providers. There is an opportunity to improve safety through light projections, audible alerts, or Bluetooth notifications, allowing riders to clearly signal intentions. Real-time prompts can reduce assumptions and lower collision risks, particularly at night.
Low helmet uptake highlights an opportunity for e-scooter focused design interventions. Key opportunities include redesigning helmets to better protect areas impacted in e-scooter falls and improving appeal through colour, material, and finish. Critically, enhancing hygiene through effective cleaning processes could significantly increase helmet usage and rider safety.
Five design intervention solutions were identified from the exposed opportunities. The ‘Hygiene and Health Lock’ was selected as the most feasible. Over six weeks, this idea was developed further and simplified into a dedicated helmet cleaning device. Eight digital and physical prototypes were produced, balancing form, technology, and user experience within the tight space of a helmet mount.
Meet Aeris – a smart, automated helmet cleaning system redefining safety and hygiene in shared micromobility. Seamlessly mounted on the scooter’s stem, Aeris cleans, purifies, and dries every helmet, every time. Between each ride, it uses a disinfectant mist spray, UVC light, and air-drying technology to ready the helmet for use. More than just a cleaning device, it’s a confidence booster – transforming helmet use from an afterthought into an effortless, hygienic habit that makes e-scooter travel safer, cleaner, and smarter.
Aeris is finished in a soft ivory white, symbolising purity and cleanliness while visually communicating hygiene – a key concern in shared helmet use. Its low-gloss texture not only resists scratches and fingerprints but also allows it to blend seamlessly with existing e-scooter aesthetics across different brands. A subtle grey bumper runs along the base, visually slimming the form while complementing brand colour schemes. Optional vent accents, such as Lime’s signature green, offer flexibility for brand integration without compromising the product’s clean visual identity. The name Aeris, meaning “belonging to the air,” encapsulates the product’s association with freedom, cleanliness, and effortless movement.
Hayden is a function-driven industrial designer and mechanical engineer who creates practical, user-focused solutions. Focused on human connection, usability, and sustainability, he blends technical insight with refined aesthetics to develop products that are purposeful, enduring, and deeply attuned to the user experience.