Swedish car manufacturer Volvo has previously demonstrated in-car cyclist collision detection systems to help prevent accidents on the road. Now it's about to publicly show a piece of technology for bike riders that could further improve safety.

With 50 per cent of all cyclists killed in European traffic having collided with a car, Volvo has partnered with protective gravity sports gear manufacturer POC and Ericsson to create a prototype cycling helmet that communicates with proximity sensors in cars.

These send alerts to the car and vice versa, so both the driver and rider know that each other are approaching. The helmet and Volvo's in-car system send data to the cloud and if a collision is imminent, all those involved are warned.

The driver will be alerted through a heads-up display alert, even if the cyclist is in a blind spot. And the rider will be warned by the flashing of a helmet-mounted alert light.

"Our mission is to do the best we can to possibly save lives and to reduce the consequences of accidents for gravity sports athletes and cyclists," said Stefan Ytterborn, CEO and founder of POC.

"The partnership with Volvo Cars aligns very well with our mission and we are excited to see how we can contribute to cyclist safety and increase interaction between cars and cyclists alike."

READ: Volvo cloud cars can spot road dangers and instantly alert other cars, on the roads in testing now

The concept helmet will be demonstrated at CES 2015 in Las Vegas in January. Pocket-lint will be in attendance to bring you all the news as it happens.