With traffic getting worse every year and environmental awareness going up, the advent of the micro-mobility movement in cities worldwide is nothing. Now, during/after COVID, people everywhere are flocking away from cars & public transportation in search of fresh air, adopting bikes, e-bikes & scooters as they choice of transport. Add bikes getting faster, traffic getting heavier and biking infrastructure falling behind – the result? The perfect storm.

UNIT 1 has applied their expertise in the field of tech-enabled helmets into FARO – a smart helmet designed for the rider of tomorrow today. It tackles two main issues: Style & Visibility.

Style – the all-time helmet killer. Urban riders everywhere refuse to adopt helmets not because they don’t need them but because they don’t like how helmets look and how they look with a helmet on. FARO was designed to be sleek & stylish, a helmet you’ll actually want to wear. Its clean lines and urban color ways make it part of your outfit, be it your commute to work on formal attire or a ride around town in everyday clothes. To keep the look clean, U1 developed a unique ventilation system that combines hidden intakes and extensive cooling without having to – in their words – punch too many holes into their helmet.

isibility – riders at night become almost invisible to drivers (the number 1 threat to their safety). Cycling lights, even though widespread, don’t quite get the job done: they are small, sit low and are easily lost or even stolen. FARO swoops in with two integrated front & rear lights that make the rider visible from every angle and even during daytime (with over 500 lumens of combined output). These discreet but powerful lights are beautifully integrated into the helmet. As a second measure, FARO has a fabric liner in the back that covers up an extra 46 LEDs – U1 calls it the ‘Hidden Light’. This provides a much larger light footprint in a variety of animated patterns & colors, all highly customizable through their Companion App. This light is only visible when it’s on, meaning the clean look is uncompromised.

The fabric liner makes another pass at style, adding a unique material into the mix: a tear-proof, weather proof fabric that looks & feels refined – a world first in the urban helmet space.

From a safety standpoint, FARO makes a bold statement: a regular helmet works very much like a seatbelt, only if/when you get hit. A lighted helmet works for you all the time, making you visible and helping you prevent an accident in the first place.

FARO was designed to be compliant with all major Safety Certifications (CPSC | EN1078 | AS / NZS 2063: 2008) and, as an added measure, UNIT 1 has partnered up with MIPS, a Swedish company specializing in helmet protection, to give FARO a revolutionary system that improves a helmet’s impact absorption during an accident. MIPS uses a low friction liner that can slightly rotate in any direction upon an impact, resulting in extra energy being absorbed instead of transmitted to the rider’s head. In short, it makes the helmet even safer.

To give riders an extra layer of safety, FARO can be complimented with an optional add-on: the Navigation Remote. This little device is mounted on the handlebar and allows the rider to activate & display large turn signals to drivers and other riders. A myriad of sensors also activates an automatic brake light when the rider slows down or stops. This powerful device essentially gives the rider to communicate with others on the road. Good communication leads to fewer accidents and safer streets.

As a final measure to improve rider safety, UNIT 1 has given FARO another unique feature: Fall Detection. FARO can detect a strong impact and (if the rider is unresponsive) will send out an SOS message to a predetermined emergency contact with the rider’s location.

A 1850 mAh rechargeable battery allows FARO to run for up to 10 hours of continuous riding, depending on the rider’s settings. In real life, this equates to charging FARO once a week. The electronics in FARO are fully sealed and the helmet is completely waterproof, making it good for any weather.

FEATURES:

Integrated front & rear lights.

Signature Hidden Light + Fabric Liner

Navigation Remote (Add-on): Automatic brake light + Turn signals.

Ventilation system.

Magnetic buckle.

Fitting system.

Fall detection.

Fully certified.

MIPS version

FARO App

Available at: https://faro-a-sleek-visibility-firs-1.kckb.st/cdf0128f