Nearhuman, an AI company based at UWE Bristol's Enterprise Zone incubator, has developed an intelligent safety camera designed to be fitted inside rental e-scooters. The forward-facing camera uses AI to record information about journeys, detecting issues such as pavement riding, close calls with pedestrians, and road hazards.
The data and footage captured can be shared with e-scooter operators to provide safety insights. It can also be communicated to local councils to offer street-level information on the condition of roads, cycle lanes, and pavements. This comes as figures from the Department for Transport show a rise in e-scooter casualties, from 484 in 2020 to 1,477 in 2025.
Faizan Mir, a 24-year-old robotics graduate, was motivated to address e-scooter safety issues after a personal incident involving a friend. He stated, "The hire e-scooters and bikes are making cities much better - they are an eco-friendly mode of transport, but there are a lot of safety issues with them." He added that accidents are often unrecorded and that e-scooter accidents happen significantly more per mile than cars.
Mir, who graduated with a first-class honours degree in BEng (Hons) Robotics in 2024, was inspired by his father and childhood principal to build things for the greater good. He highlighted the support received from UWE Bristol, particularly from the Student Ventures and Launch Space teams, including incubation manager Mark Corderoy.
The Nearhuman team includes fellow UWE Bristol graduates Amin Alhawary, Hatim Shaherawala, Tobias Dawson, and Yerim Mohamed, alongside Ali Ekbal, Dushyant Goel, and Cameron Setiadi. Mir expressed his surprise and gratitude upon receiving the £350,000 investment from UK investor SFC Capital, wanting to give back to the UK and the university.
The company's camera module utilises an edge AI system for privacy and independence from cloud connectivity. Future developments aim to enable the camera to automatically slow down the e-scooter's speed in real-time based on its surroundings and rider behaviour. Mir noted that the technology also has potential applications in other sectors.
