Android Motorcycle Helmet/HUD Gains Funding

DeviceGuru (1136715) writes Skully Systems has achieved Indiegogo funding for a high-tech Android 4.4 based motorcycle helmet with a head-up display (HUD), GPS navigation, and a 180-degree rearview camera. The Skully AR-1 helmet launched on Indiegogo on Aug. 10 and quickly blasted past its $250,000 flexible funding goal and has already surpassed $900,000 in funding. The helmet runs a heavily modified version of Android 4.4, with both screen size and safety in mind, according to Skully's Tow. 'You should not think of it as being Android as seen in a phone; it doesn't run the same skin,' wrote Tow on the Skully forum page. 'You instead should think of it as a variant of Linux, not Android per se. What counts is the device drivers, graphics rendering for our turn by turn directions and vehicle telemetry, etc. More nerdy things like communication over the I2C bus to the image processing module.' Helmets are available starting at $1,399, with shipments due in May 2015.

Comments

Oh man

[oodaloop]

a head-up display (HUD), GPS navigation, and a 180-degree rearview camera

Shut up and take my money already!

Helmets are available starting at $1,399

Well, let's not be hasty.

Re:Oh man

[Cthefuture]

Worth it? Meh, probably not.

I wonder how much it would cost to simply take a regular helmet and some Chinese electronics off eBay to make the same thing. I'm guessing significantly less even including your time to build it.

I mean you're looking at less than $100 in raw parts for GPS + Arduino + HD Camera + display controller/OSD. Not sure about the HUD part but I believe it's just a projection on a small piece of glass, probably also less than $100 in parts by itself not to mention alternative hardware implementations that might be cheaper. Add $300 for a decent helmet, wire it up and you're done.

Personally I think I would find the HUD hardware incredibly distracting. Not the HUD itself mind you, but the stalk that sticks up in front of your eye. I would rather it be projected on the visor even if that means it's not always available (eg. when the visor is up).

Re:Oh man

[amxcoder]

Agreed, projecting on the visor like a fighter pilot helmet would be the best IMO. That way you can flip it up and it's not in your face if you want. Plus the visor is bigger and a better distance from your eyes than a google-glass-like window. You also would have more real estate for projecting information and telemetry data. And both eyes could then see it instead of just one.

I'm still waiting for this feature in cars for the windshield. Heck, my 1997 Pontiac had a cheap HUD that displays the speed and radio stations on the front window, why aren't we putting GPS nav and other information projected onto the front window by now. It's freaking 17 years later (from when my car was built) and there are STILL only a handful of cars doing this today, most common being the Corvette. Even the ones doing it today are still only putting a couple pieces of info on the window, same as my car did 17 years ago (speed, radio, and maybe what gear your in?). With tech being cheap today, I want this as an option on normal everyday cars as well (obviously as an option, so your not forced to buying it).

How cool would it be to have a HUD version of GPS of where you need to go overlaid on top of what you are seeing, or have some augmented reality street signs projected as you drive around an unfamiliar city. Add in your speed and a couple other car operating status displays, maybe a rear or side camera views to help with lane changes, and you got some useful information that you don't have to take your eyes off the road for. You could even do a night vision/FLIR front cam projection, so at night, you can see better (like Cadillac did years ago), except projected in front of you.

This would have to be way more safe to have this information transparently floating in front of you that needing to look down at a dash mounted GPS, or at your cluster, or at your radio when changing channels etc.

Something like this: http://www.google.com/url?sa=i...

Re:Oh man

[BitZtream]

why aren't we putting GPS nav and other information projected onto the front window by now.

Because most drivers don't spend much time looking out the windows? They have smart phones FFS.

Re:Oh man

[Blrfl]

I mean you're looking at less than $100 in raw parts for GPS + Arduino + HD Camera + display controller/OSD. Not sure about the HUD part but I believe it's just a projection on a small piece of glass, probably also less than $100 in parts by itself not to mention alternative hardware implementations that might be cheaper. Add $300 for a decent helmet, wire it up and you're done.

Yep, and what you'll have when you finish is a kludged-up helmet that does nothing unless you manage to source the hard-to-obtain Arduino Motorcycle Helmet Edition that does all of the navigation, phone interface, etc. You're also assuming you'll get it completely right the first time. which you won't, because nobody does. Price in a few helmets and at least two sets of hardware and you're already into the same price as a finished AR1. Don't forget the value of your time to do all of the hardware integration and write all of that nifty software.

More fun: Your modifications will invalidate any safety certifications the helmet you started with, making it not legal for road use almost everywhere. As a free bonus, you'll get to ride around with a niggling question in the back of your head about whether or not the helmet will do its job properly during a crash.

Personally I think I would find the HUD hardware incredibly distracting. Not the HUD itself mind you, but the stalk that sticks up in front of your eye.

If the photos I've seen reflect what will be produced, it doesn't stick up any further than the breath guard, is in a location where vision is not all that important and isn't any larger than Legal Speeding's H.A.R.D., which is often installed in the same spot.

As the man says...

[swb]

...if you've got a cheap head, buy a cheap helmet.

Re:As the man says...

[funwithBSD]

Except a standard $100 helmet vrs a standard $500 helmet is a huge improvement in safety and feature set.

The question is: is this a $100 helmet with $1299 of gadgets, or a $500 helmet with $799 of gadgets.

Maybe there will be a niche for this product, but I don't know of but a handful of motorcyclists interested in the helmet.

Re:As the man says...

[Anonymous Coward]

You may wish to find an old article in Motorcyclist magazine called "Blowing the Lid Off". In this article, they point out why testing against higher impact energies is wrong, and that in fact at the time, NON-Snell helmets were safer than Snell helmets. Snell has since revised their ratings, but don't fall into the trap of thinking that Snell==good while DOT-only==bad. That is simply not the case.

Re:Would it be weird?

[oodaloop]

Half the reason of owning and riding a motorcycle is the excuse to look awesome.

Re:High Pricepoint

[Anonymous Coward]

This is literally the "the world's first" consumer-level helmet like this, there's no competition yet. Once it's been out for a year, competitors will appear and you can get your own SKOLEY brand knock-off at WalMart for just $199.99!
 
  But seriously, people pay $600 for new smart phones, and helmets with nothing but bluetooth start around $200. The price of this brand may never go down, but cheap knock-offs will show up eventually!
 
captcha: novelty ;)

This helmet scares me.

[MasterOfGoingFaster]

I'm a motorcycle rider and racer for over 40 year. This helmet scares me.

First, this little detail: "The “highly weather resistant” helmet is made of a “lightweight, aerodynamic” polycarbonate shell, says Skully Systems."

Polycarbonate - OK, that's the material used in low-end helmets (sub $200). In the $300+ category, we have fiberglass and carbon fiber. PC tends to craze (small cracks) when exposed to UV. I've seen a PC helmet crack in half when it fell off the bike and hit the concrete. Just from the material, I'm not interested.

Second - When I watched the video, I found the lower right display too distracting. Riding a bike in traffic, you never know when some idot will run a stop sign, or pull out in traffic. You need to be able to pick up any movement as you scan for threats. This adds distraction. Distraction on a motorcycle kills. Kills you dead.

Third - Did you see how most of the testimonials come from non-riders? There was a "tire expert" (WTF is that?) and only one racer/builder. So I think this is a bunch of tech guys putting together a somewhat-cheap helmet, as a way to sell cool tech.

Over time, this may (should?) evolve into something that works well. But I fear this will turn into the motorcycle-equivalent of the texting-while-driving problem.

Re:This helmet scares me.

[Anonymous Coward]

Polycarbonate - OK, that's the material used in low-end helmets (sub $200). In the $300+ category, we have fiberglass and carbon fiber. PC tends to craze (small cracks) when exposed to UV. I've seen a PC helmet crack in half when it fell off the bike and hit the concrete. Just from the material, I'm not interested.

Years ago I worked in a motorcycle shop that offered a helmet trade-in credit toward a new helmet. You wouldn't believe the junk people brought in. My job was to take the trade-ins out to the shop and crush them with the forklift so nobody could dig them out of the dumpster. Those 70's and 80's style helmets - the open faced ones with the big plastic bubble face shield - were the worst. I could smash them totally flat with the 10,000 pound fork lift, and when I'd back off, they'd spring right back to their original shape. No damage whatsoever. Whoever designed those had a lack of understanding of basic physics.

I'm not convinced that the high dollar helmets are any safer than the cheaper ones. I think you're paying for light weight and comfort (okay, worth it if you ride a lot). I put my head in whatever has the latest SNELL certification.

Re:This helmet scares me.

[Altus]

One of the issues with age and helmets is that the core materials can degrade with time. People like to say that helmet tech gets better and safer and it does, but an old style helmet is still a lot better than nothing.

The best reason to replace your helmet every 5 or so years is that they styrofoam can break down and that can significantly reduce the usefulness of the helmet.

Also, every time you fill up that bike the styrofoam inside is exposed to a solvent. Gasoline vapor. Sure, its not going to dissolve it over night but 18 years? you might be pushing your luck. Still it is pretty much impossible to quantify the condition of the inside of a helmet. Some companies will test them to see if they are still usable after a minor accident but that process is not worth the cost unless the helmet is very expensive. All things considered it is best to replace them if you have had an accident. I'm not even sure if that testing would show solvent damage or if it just shows where the styrofoam has been deformed by impact.

That said, if you are going to ride with that or nothing.... go with your old Arai.

Re:This helmet scares me.

[theshowmecanuck]

Assume the goal of every car on the road is to make you their new hood ornament.

Someone told me to think that only one car on the road is out to get you, and you don't know which one it is. You'll look for it harder. :D

Re:This helmet scares me.

[LynnwoodRooster]

You really should learn a bit about polycarbonate - better known as Lexan (that's the Sabic trademark for PC). It's extremely durable, very shatter resistant, highly UV resistant, and generally THE choice for fighter aircraft canopies (which have just a little bit of UV exposure). Snell itself says there are many polycarbonate, Snell-rated helmets on the market.

Additionally, all Shoei shields (as well as pretty much everyone else's shields) are polycarbonate. In testing, polycarbonate helmets tend to transmit less energy into the brain, because it flexes better than fiberglass/carbon fiber. It's a great material, great for impact resistance, stable, and fairly lightweight.

Re:This helmet scares me.

[MasterOfGoingFaster]

You really should learn a bit about polycarbonate - better known as Lexan (that's the Sabic trademark for PC). It's extremely durable, very shatter resistant, highly UV resistant,

Yes, I should. I've only used it since the mid 1980's - back when it was "GE Lexan". ;D But I won't claim to be an expert in PC.

Help me understand. You say "highly RV resistant", but the Wikipedia article you reference says RV resistance is "fair".

And from here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C...
"Crazing occurs mostly in amorphous, brittle polymers like polystyrene (PS), acrylic (PMMA), and polycarbonate; it is typified by a whitening of the crazed region."

So I will admit to a lack of expertise with PC, but what I've cited agrees with my own experience. I'd certainly appreciate more data, if this is your field.

Build one yourself for a LOT cheaper..

[Lumpy]

http://www.reconinstruments.co... has an already proven solution hardware package that can easily be adapted to a full face helmet.

The problem with Skully is their chosen base helmet sucks, it's great for freaks with smushed heads, but normal people with round heads it's uncomfortable. so they will need to offer about 80 different helmet sizes to make a $1500-$2000 helmet fit everyone that wants to buy one.

Re:Would it be weird?

[Pope]

And here I thought it was just a death wish.. Driving a motorcycle seems like a dangerous way to get places during rush hour. Driving a car scares me enough, I'd hate to be out there on two wheels trying to doge the stupid people, the gravel, AND the guy behind me who obviously don't pay attention to anything smaller than what they are driving.

So, why does that middle aged woman bring her Harley to work most of the time? I thought she did it for the parking space, because your above theory just doesn't apply to her.

Because they're fun to ride. If you're scared of being in a car already, then a motorcycle isn't for you.

Nice helmet, try not to use it to begin with...

[DrackenFireBreather]

I too have been following the Skully and volunteered as a tester but was not selected. Do I think it's awesome? Heck yeah! But due to the steep price of this helmet and the shelf life of all motorcycle helmets at ~5 years, I'll be content with my Scorpion 1100 with Chatterbox X1 Slim as it does everything (protect the head and eyes, phone calls, bike-to-bike & bike-to-passenger VOX talk, turn-by-turn via smartphone, etc.) except the HUD and rear view camera and costs significantly less. And I can mount the Chatterbox to another helmet when this one is damaged or past it's shelf life.

I agree that getting the best gear for safety is great, but learning to ride defensively is the best.

I'd rather spend my money on learning to ride by going through an AMA backed MSF class. After taking the basic class, I realized how it made me a better driver in my car let alone on the bike. The intermediate and advanced classes just improved on that foundation.

For those that ask why I ride daily... the fact I can get 45-50 MPG mixed riding on a 1300CC sport bike and have more fun than the Prius driver is the main reason ;)