Heads-up displays go from cockpits to helmets

[figjam]

I want!

http://news.com.com/2100-1041_3-5116489.html?tag=nefd_top

http://www.motionresearch.com/

By John Markoff
The New York Times

Fighter pilots have long been able to view flight data projected onto jet windshields within their line of sight. Soon recreational motorcyclists and bicyclists will be able to take advantage of that technology.

Motion Research, a Seattle company former race car driver Dominic Dobson founded in 1993, said it will begin selling an inexpensive information display system next spring that attaches to a motorcycle helmet.

The SportVue head-mounted display will allow riders to see speed, revolutions per minute and gear position without taking their eyes off the road. The system gathers speed information from a global-positioning satellite receiver attached to the rear of the helmet.

The design, based on a patent co-developed by Tom Furness, one of the pioneers of head-mounted display technology, uses a lens and mirror and backlit liquid crystal display to give the viewer the illusion that the information displayed in the periphery of one eye is projected in the distance.

Dobson founded Motion Research when he was racing Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Formula One cars, and his initial idea was to use the display technology for race car drivers. But the cost of producing such displays was prohibitively high a decade ago. He retired in 1998 and recently picked the idea up again, because the costs of the technology have fallen significantly.

"We realized we could build it far more cheaply today," he said. "Not much changed in the technology itself. What happened was the cost of manufacturing changed."

Today, he said, the technology is beginning to appear in the consumer market, both in wearable systems and in some cars, such as certain models of the Cadillac, with systems that project driving information onto the windshield.

But Motion Research will be the first company to attempt a truly low-cost consumer application. The price of the motorcycle SportVue will range from $249 to $349.

The bicycle version of Sportvue, which will be introduced sometime after the motorcycle system, will project speed, distance traveled and heart rate information, like current cyclometers, and range from $150 to $199, Dobson said. He said the company was also in discussions with helmet manufacturers to integrate the display systems into helmets.

Entire contents, Copyright © 2003 The New York Times. All rights reserved.

[duckman]

Imagine having your radar detector built in as well. !!

:rockon:

[Jackrat]

The heart rate would be interesting to see,I wonder what mine would be shortly after over cooking yet another corner.

:eek:

[Coldkiwi]

radar would be good wouldn't it. I wonder if I can get it to display weapon status as well if I get cut off by a cager and want to exact revenge in a hurry?

 

[bikerboy]

Only in America CK.:o

[wkid_one]

Why??  At the end of the day - your head is what, all of 1 foot from your instruments.  Also - the last thing I would want blearing in to a corner is some fucken idiot light or the like coming on and warning me of something.

What is there really to tell you the you MUST know??  How fast you are going?  Well surely you can tell that by both the seat of your pants and the sound of your engine???  That is all you really need to know?? 

Remember, a fighter pilot needs quite a bit more information than a motorcyclist does, don't get carried away.

The GP riders have been managing without this....I think us mere mortals can do without it too

[modalx]

Why?? Just because we can!

We don't need palm organisers or home cinema or cell phones that play the freakin' Batman theme in polyponia but we love them anyway.

I WANT ONE!!!!

[Coldkiwi]

I personally would appreciate not having to glance at the speedo at critical times (i.e. cop coming) and take my eyes off the road. the article also noted you could have a shift light and gear indicator amoung other things which would surely be useful.

further reading says they can do a race spec version with split times and lap times+ average speeds (lets hear it for GPS!).... and you're telling me this isn't useful Wkid!? come on man!

[georgedubyabush]

Would anyone else be worried about constant radar pulses an inch from their brain???

[wkid_one]

Ummm - you haven't convinced me one bit.  Pilots are travelling significantly faster and have way more axii to be concerned about - plus they have 5 million dials that are tiny.....we have a great big fucken speedo - how hard is that!  I hardly think

As for checking your speed when a cop is coming - it is hardly difficult enough to warrant a $300 toy that will no doubt fuck the aerodynamics of your helmet up if you are travelling fast enuf to be worried about your speed in the first place. 

Lap times etc???  Isn't that what they hire pit board carriers for??  Listen to the proverbial words of Michael Schumacher - '....whilst the technology is there, I prefer to rely on my instincts to go faster'.

[Coldkiwi]

radar pulses? Its a satellite receiver, not a missle detection system!

 

[georgedubyabush]

Originally posted by Coldkiwi
radar pulses? Its a satellite receiver, not a missle detection system!

 

yeah, I dont have a clue... But why are there warnings against excessive cellphone use etc, that's got to be pretty similar right?

[Coldkiwi]

George...  cellphones are actively transmitting when you use them. And if you get into a low signal area, they juice right up so they don't loose the connection (feel the brain fry)

GPS receivers on the other hand (now some techy person please correct me if I'm wrong) simply scan for the signals from 5 or so satellites they need to triangulate your position. They're not transmitting any data like an iridium phone that has to communicate with the satellites.

Wkid, my argument would be that although a fighter pilot has more dials and data coming in to him than we do, if he does want to look at his information, when he looks back up, he'll probably still be flying. If we happen to look down for a little too long at the wrong time any number of unfortunate things could happen that our delay in reacting may prove critical.

FWIW your point about at what speed aerodynamics and speeding come to a head is a little shallow... I worry about speeding at 130 when aerodynamics are still a fairly minor part of life on a full faired bike. And you have a pit board carrier?? nice for some!

besides, I like gadgets!!

 :2thumbsup

man... I really gotta log off and do some work or I'll spout crap all morning!!! (apologies)

[wkid_one]

Not when the aerodymanics you are talking about is your helmet.  Would you want a HUD at the expense of poor vortexes off your helmet causing it to shake and shimmy more than Elvis in a McDonalds queue?

And really - many motorcyclists have managed to check their speed without having accidents until now!

As for liking gadgets - that is more than likely the REAL reason.  Don't give me the bullshit 'it will help my riding' speel - it is more likely the Tim the Tool Man 'gotta have the new toy' reason.

I do think you will be sorely sorely sorely disappointed to buy one.  You would be better wiring up a beeper that warned you when you speed was over 120kph etc (like the cars did/do) if you were that concerned.  Having the HUD is just one more thing your eyes have to focus on - and regardless of it being in your vision - you can only focus on ONE POINT AT A TIME - so you will lose detail of the wider surrounds anyway.

[georgedubyabush]

yeah, I was refering to a 'built in radar detector' originally as Duckman said. They must send out a radar pulse right?

[Lou Girardin]

The main point of head up displays was that combat pilots did not have to refocus on them. They are in the same focal plane as infinity. Not sure that I'd want one though.
Lou

[figjam]

Damn! Up 'til this (http://www.webbikeworld.com/heads-up-display/), I've been quite keen on one.

Guess the implementation isn't quite as good as the concept.

[bugjuice]

these and a few others have been around for a little while now.
I've done a lot of research into this lot, cos I did have a patent pending for a HUD Helmet design that I came up with. Bells, whistles, the whole shaaaaabang. I've been all over the world (in emails and phone calls) trying to find someone to help me develop the technology, and zip. No one wants to know. Not totally sure why, but one US company did go further than the rest, and helped out for a few months. Eventually, the guy who was my main contact there, decided to do some 'research' and found these sort of 'light' systems, and he thought mine wouldn't fly.. so they canned me. :crybaby:
and i was gonna be rich too.. well, not that I was doing it for the money, more for the fact that it was cool, and I could.. They just never give the little guys a chance, huh?

[Yokai]

We don't need palm organisers or home cinema or cell phones that play the freakin' Batman theme in polyponia
That's just CRAZY TALK!!!

HUDs would be REALLY useful if I could have revs without having a revcounter on the bike. What I really want though is a "Your 'x' has fallen off " indicator. Course I can imagine it if it was done with MS stuff:

You are entering this 90degree corner at 140k - Are You Sure [YES] [NO] in a nice opaque blue so you can't see the road!
What would be even better though would be hooking the thing to a Navman (JR - Get reading this!) so that you could project a good line on the HUD, even if there was no way you could see around the corner.

[Biff]

GPS receivers on the other hand (now some techy person please correct me if I'm wrong) simply scan for the signals from 5 or so satellites they need to triangulate your position.


30 GPS satellites orbit at around 26,500 Kilometres.

The baseline satellite constellation consists of 24 satellites positioned in six earth-centred orbital planes with four operation satellites and a spare satellite slot in each orbital plane. How many of these are actually active at any one time depends on how many are in service/operational at any one time.

GPS terminals predominantly operate best on between 6-8 satellites Rx signals, but can accept a minimum of 4 before being able to triangulate a users position.

Geek Report Ends

[pritch]

I saw an article about a HUD device for motorcycle radar detectors on a website recently. There was nothing on the outside of the helmet , there was a small arrangement like an upside down periscope somewhat bigger than a match stuck between the helmet and liner with the right angled bend pointing at the visor. From memory this was US$300?

[TwoSeven]

HUDs in lids have been around for decades (literally). So its nothing new. In fact I believe their is a kiwi company that used to do em for a bit - never found out who it was tho.

I've been messing around with designs for wearable computers for a while now, and much prefer using a micro-opticle lense rather that butchering a visor - that I hardly use anyhow. Much prefer the optics in the glasses, or in a glasses overlay projector.

Also, i'd probably have the receiver in the bike rather than on the rider. Adding extra wieght to the rider - especially the head makes for a painful ride (kills the neck muscles).

Having the rev counter and gear change lights in the lense is ok, and I'd also add the gps nav display, but not really that much else. I'd probably add audibles as well so you can communicate with others.

[flyin]

Sure fighter pilots have a fair few dials in their cockpits but the HUD only shows the few details they need to know to keep on track, th right way up and all!! (besides the computer does heaps of the work and the american pilots probly dont even know what the other gauges mean!!)

the less time your eyes are off the road the less likely you are to miss something, hesitate ... etc

as for the radar detector, one would usually mount the radar elsewhere on the bike, only the display is in the helmet. so the signals shouldnt mess our barins too much!!
still theres a few electrical pulses goin on in the helmet which cant be good for us i guess, but nowhere near as bad as standing close to a microwave oven waiting for your pie!!

Bluetooth or similar will make this tecnology really handy (no blimmin wires to get tangled in!)


all up I WANT ONE, :2thumbsup

[Fenix]

besides the computer does heaps of the work and the american pilots probly dont even know what the other gauges mean!!

I wonder if there's any thread over 2 pages that contains no sheep-like USA-bashing?


A GPS picks up pings from the sattelites (needs 4 to get an X/Y/Z position, should be obvious why), and then uses the time the pings took to calculate a position. It is completly passive, as far as I know.

It would be quite cool to have a HUD on your helmet, for me it would be mainly "Because I can" rather than any practical use. But then again, why not?

[pritch]

I saw an article about a HUD device for motorcycle radar detectors on a website recently.


http://www.radarbusters.com/products/accessories/motorcyles/hard.asp