World-first smart sensor helmets
The challenge
Queensland requires e-scooter riders to wear a helmet, but on a shared fleet the helmet is the easiest thing to skip. Magnetic Island, about 8 km off Townsville, is a busy tourist destination with winding coastal roads and a steady turnover of visitors, many riding for the first time. Signs, app reminders and fines all depend on riders choosing to comply, and residents and councils judge a whole scheme by the riders they see without one.
What Adam did
On 27 June 2025 the operator fitted its whole Magnetic Island fleet with smart sensor helmets. Each helmet has sensors that detect when it is being worn properly and is linked to its e-scooter, so a trip cannot start until the helmet is on the rider's head. An RFID-enabled lock keeps each helmet with its e-scooter between trips. As General Manager, Adam led the rollout: planning the launch with the local team, setting how helmets are supplied, cleaned and returned, explaining the system to council, and turning the results into a case study and technical material for tenders.
The result
Helmet use on the island moved from something riders are asked to do to something the vehicle checks. The operator's data shows every trip since launch has started with a helmet confirmed on the rider, and no head injuries have been recorded since the system went live. A response to a helmet being removed mid-ride has also been tested, and the technology now features in the operator's tenders and in its safety discussions with councils.
