British firm seek crowdfunding investment for head-up display
HUD unit fits to helmet to display speed, GPS navigation, gear position and more
A BRITISH firm is seeking crowdfunding investment for its BikeHUD in-helmet head-up display unit.
BikeSystems is looking to raise £120,000 through crowdfunding site ‘Kickstarter’ in order to prepare its head-up display and camera systems for launch in 2015.
The head-up display will fit full-face and most flip-front helmets and uses a transparent screen to display speed, engine rpm, gear indicator, ‘and more using graphics, colour and sound without distracting the rider.’
There are currently three different units being trialled: the Adventure, Adventure Plus and Adventure Vision.
The base model Adventure has a target price of £310 and displays speed, GPS navigation, safety camera locations, and can connect to your phone to play music and show who’s calling you.
The £562 Adventure Plus has all the features of the base model but shows extra information in the HUD monocle like gear indication, engine rpm and indicator switch position. It can also take calls from your smartphone, comes with a handlebar-mounted keypad and adds high frequency speed display.
The Adventure Vision is expected to cost £946 and has the same features as the Adventure Plus with the addition of front and rear-facing bike-mounted cameras providing a wide-angle view of the road and eliminating blind spots, according to the firm.
Dave Vout, Managing Director of BikeSystems, says the head-up display system makes riding safer by eliminating the need for the rider to take their eyes off the road.
He also explained how the system could be used by racers and health services: ‘With consultation from race organisations such as the UK's ACU, ADVENTURE will allow a race team’s pit crew to finally feed information directly to the rider via text, symbols and simple shorthand.
‘Additionally other race information such as braking and turn-in points can be more accurately defined now. Where traditionally the rider had to gauge such points by looking at markers or references on the edge of the track now he has a much more intuitive method. Additionally this data can be recorded for training/instruction etc.
‘Conceptually we've created a PC for motorbikes and like any computer its use is only limited by imagination and creativity. For example new concepts for emergency services - it will be possible for the motorcycle control centre to set the destination in the GPS - saving time for the rider who can concentrate on getting there rather than inputting data into his GPS unit.
BikeSystems has raised £5,789 of its £120,000 goal on Kickstarter with 14 days left to go.
A demonstrational video of the head-up display unit has also been uploaded to the firm’s YouTube channel.
