Heads-up display for helmets

[colinl]

I'm an electrical engineering grad, and I'm a relatively new rider (been riding about three years). In my spare time, I put together a heads-up display for my own personal use. By chance, I took the helmet with me to a motorcycle show last month, and a few people I met said I ought to think about selling it.

I only have one, so I'm not actually selling it, but I thought I'd share it with the community to get some thoughts on it.

The eyepiece displays text in your field-of-view, so you can always keep your eyes on the road. It’ll display your speed, or basic GPS navigation, or both. The HUD pairs via Bluetooth to a smartphone. It looks like this from the inside of the helmet:

All of the pieces are adjustable and they fit inside any helmet, so you can keep wearing the helmet that you know and like.

It works during the day, at night, and in the rain. All weather, all conditions.

As you can see, there is no frontal aerodynamic impact, because all of the pieces are tucked inside the helmet:

It charges with a standard Android charging cable:

As far as safety is concerned, the eyepiece is made out of a ballistics-grade composite. I wouldn’t depend on it to stop an actual bullet, but it’ll definitely hold up in even the most serious impacts.

The pieces are stuck inside the helmet with the same adhesive GoPros use. Once placed, the pieces are damn near impossible to remove. You can try to yank them out, hard, and they won't budge.

The kit doesn’t permanently alter the helmet (i.e. no holes get drilled or anything like that). Removing the adhesive would take some elbow grease, but it’s possible, so it wouldn’t be like you’d permanently maim your helmet to use the HUD.

So, what do you guys think? Do you see yourself buying one of these, if it were available?

 

[chief_of_smoke]

Yes I would. As long as the price is right. I know there are a couple of helmets that have it built in bit they are thousands of dollars.

 

[loose1]

How would that mount with a modular helmet? Looks great.
Matt

 

[GregoXB]

In the event of a crash, will that gouge out your eyes?

 

[ocgreenmachine]

That is awesome that you are DIYing your own... The stuff I personally like to see is for navigation (turn direction, street name, distance, speed). As for concerns, most of the companies out there have issue with safety in the event of a crash. The lens should be something that is shatter resistant (perhaps multiple laminated layers to prevent shattering... spidercracking instead in the event of impact). Anything that close to your eyes would present some sort of danger in the event of a crash.

 

[Katsunaka]

Looks cool, but whats the weight of the unit installed on the helmet? Is it a noticeable weight or not?

My helmet is already on the heavier side to begin with, plus my Sena and its stuff. I like, is it possible to interface with a Sena and have voice directions along with the heads up display.

 

[njloco]

I think it, very cool of you to, not only build your own but, also to want to share it with us. !

I would be interested in it for my helmet.

Not knowing anything about this tech stuff and for my own curiosity, would it be somehow possible to integrate the lens shown into the visor, meaning I send my visor to you to install it. I guess if your going to start selling them in a kit form, that would answer my question meaning, it wouldn't be practical ?

 

[GregoXB]

That is awesome that you are DIYing your own... The stuff I personally like to see is for navigation (turn direction, street name, distance, speed). As for concerns, most of the companies out there have issue with safety in the event of a crash. The lens should be something that is shatter resistant (perhaps multiple laminated layers to prevent shattering... spidercracking instead in the event of impact). Anything that close to your eyes would present some sort of danger in the event of a crash.

If it was shatter resistant, wouldn't that have the potential to be even more dangerous in the event of a crash? I.E. if it got dislodged and then wedged itself sideways between your eye sockets and the visor?

 

[midway]

I would buy that... pm me a quote

 

[Cooter]

Its a fantastic idea, and executed very well!
I never wanted a Skully because I like to pick my own helmet and get a new one before it expires (not for $1300!).
The Nuvis ($700) is ok, but I hate sticking another gadget on the chin of my helmet (and another controller). Along with my Sena, I look like I'm fighting Predators at night!
The Crosshelmet X-1 is interesting, but once again a whole helmet and just a start-up right now.

I really like how yours is all internal in the helmet. That material would never break in a crash, and it's way too big to rotate and cut you either, I'd feel safe with it in there.
I actually like the lack of map info too. The arrow and DTT is fine. I would like an option for tach instead of speed and rear camera but it doesn't look like your display would support a video feed?

Can you do a camera input? I could mount one on the bike and bluetooth the signal to it?
How long does the battery last?

 

[colinl]

Yes I would. As long as the price is right. I know there are a couple of helmets that have it built in bit they are thousands of dollars.

Yeah, the price of the Skully helmet was really disappointing to me. The cost for the electronics is quite low (under $200), so it seemed ridiculous to me that the helmet was retailing for $1000+.

How would that mount with a modular helmet? Looks great.
Matt

As currently designed, it wouldn't. I put on as many hard-point mounts as I could to keep it secure in case of a crash. Plus, I don't have a modular helmet. Maybe if I develop the thing further, I can make it compatible with modular helmets.

In the event of a crash, will that gouge out your eyes?

To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure. I haven't done extensive crash testing. The pieces are very, very secure, so the bigger potential issue I see is the pieces being crushed during an impact and imparting point loads onto the rider's skull or face. I still have to work those issues out.

That is awesome that you are DIYing your own... The stuff I personally like to see is for navigation (turn direction, street name, distance, speed). As for concerns, most of the companies out there have issue with safety in the event of a crash. The lens should be something that is shatter resistant (perhaps multiple laminated layers to prevent shattering... spidercracking instead in the event of impact). Anything that close to your eyes would present some sort of danger in the event of a crash.

You got it exactly right. The eyepiece consists of one layer of hardened glass and one layer of polycarbonate. I tried hitting an eyepiece on an anvil with a two pound rubber mallet, and I literally couldn't break it. It didn't even crack. Very strong stuff. So the risk of the eyepiece shattering and shredding my eyeballs is acceptably low. Doesn't mean all of the safety issues have been worked out, but it's a step in the right direction.

Looks cool, but whats the weight of the unit installed on the helmet? Is it a noticeable weight or not?

My helmet is already on the heavier side to begin with, plus my Sena and its stuff. I like, is it possible to interface with a Sena and have voice directions along with the heads up display.

Altogether, the unit adds 6.6 ounces, or 187 grams, to the helmet. I personally don't think it's noticeable, but it's a personal thing.

It doesn't currently support voice directions or voice controls, but the nice thing about smartphone control is that it's very easy to add that support later.

I think it, very cool of you to, not only build your own but, also to want to share it with us. !

I would be interested in it for my helmet.

Not knowing anything about this tech stuff and for my own curiosity, would it be somehow possible to integrate the lens shown into the visor, meaning I send my visor to you to install it. I guess if your going to start selling them in a kit form, that would answer my question meaning, it wouldn't be practical ?

A key motivation behind the design was I wanted it to be very easy to install in any helmet. Not sure if I've actually achieved that, because I'm the only person who's installed it.

If it was shatter resistant, wouldn't that have the potential to be even more dangerous in the event of a crash? I.E. if it got dislodged and then wedged itself sideways between your eye sockets and the visor?

Yeah, I don't know. I'd have to do more extensive testing if I decide to move forward with the project. Small pieces flying loose in the helmet during a crash are definitely bad. A dislodged piece during a crash is definitely bad. Ideally, in a crash situation, the pieces would all remain where they are.

I would buy that... pm me a quote

That's very encouraging. Thanks. I haven't gotten any part of it certified and, as plenty of people have pointed out, there are lots of safety scenarios that have to be worked out first. I'm perfectly okay with putting my own life at risk by using this thing, but I wouldn't want other people to risk their lives just because I wasn't diligent.

Its a fantastic idea, and executed very well!
I never wanted a Skully because I like to pick my own helmet and get a new one before it expires (not for $1300!).
The Nuvis ($700) is ok, but I hate sticking another gadget on the chin of my helmet (and another controller). Along with my Sena, I look like I'm fighting Predators at night!
The Crosshelmet X-1 is interesting, but once again a whole helmet and just a start-up right now.

I really like how yours is all internal in the helmet. That material would never break in a crash, and it's way too big to rotate and cut you either, I'd feel safe with it in there.
I actually like the lack of map info too. The arrow and DTT is fine. I would like an option for tach instead of speed and rear camera but it doesn't look like your display would support a video feed?

Can you do a camera input? I could mount one on the bike and bluetooth the signal to it?
How long does the battery last?

Thanks for the kind words.

Totally agree with you regarding the Skully. It was a beautiful helmet, though. Gorgeous. The Nuviz is pretty interesting, I think. Good technology, and it's actually on the market and available. Let's see what comes of it. As for the Crosshelmet, they don't have a solid offering yet, but I'll reserve judgement until they release.

Tachometer is a great idea, and I think it would be just as valuable, if not moreso, than speed. The most reliable way to get that info is through the bike's MCU, but I haven't designed anything to integrate with that yet. Maybe V2. As for the video feed, the projector only displays text, so it can't do rear-view.

The battery lasts 6 or 7 hours on bright days. On cloudy days, it'll last multiple days.

 

[njloco]

Cooter, you mean................. you don fight predators at night

 

[Cooter]

How about a proximity sensor to read rear closing speed and a friggin big red light!!


NJ, it's nothing walking through a Pep Boys with the crap magnet can't fix!

 

[ocgreenmachine]

curious... think you would be able to make one that has adhesive backing to stick to the inside of your visor? That would probably solve the issue with dislodging and hitting your face...

 

[chief_of_smoke]

i'm still down to buy when you have them ready.

 

[Cooter]

Me too.:up:

 

[ocgreenmachine]

me three :up:

 

[Mesozoic]

What's the status on this? Any luck making it to production or even limited production prototype?

 

[Nade]

Im keen, take my money already!! As for safety issues.....if I'm crashing hard enough to break that inside my helmet and have it penetrate my eye socket.....I've got bigger problems me thinks.

 

[Cooter]

3 years ago, and hasn't posted since. I wouldn't get your hopes up.