A HELMET display promises to give bikers eyes in the back of their head.
John Hale, founder of the , decided to make a better rear-view system for motorcyclists after too many close calls on his own bike. Mirrors didn鈥檛 show enough detail behind him, and distracted him from looking ahead.
鈥淭he inherent problem with motorcycles is that the mirrors just do not work very well,鈥� Hale says. 鈥淵ou鈥檝e got a very small reflected image and, because of the position of the mirrors, mostly you鈥檙e seeing your elbows.鈥�
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Zona puts a small backlit display into motorcycle helmets. An adjustable arm lets riders place it just below or above their eye, in their peripheral vision. A rear-facing camera on the back of the bike streams live video via Wi-Fi to a helmet-mounted receiver. The images are processed and stabilised before they reach the display, with accelerometers and gyroscopes to accommodate for the bike鈥檚 movements.
One glance at the display gives the rider a wide view of the road behind them. Although the screen is just next to the user鈥檚 face, Zona鈥檚 optics fool the eye into focusing at a more comfortable distance of around 3 metres. The system also stores the footage so it can be examined after an accident, for example.
Hale says the display, which was unveiled at a motorcycle show last month, has garnered interest from a broad range of motorcyclists, including scooter riders and touring bikers.
鈥淭he screen is next to the user鈥檚 face, but the optics allow the eye to focus at a comfortable distance鈥�
A device that fits into any helmet is likely to appeal to motorcyclists more than previous attempts at smart helmets, says at Coventry University, UK. But he says Zona-using bikers should still check their mirrors and do the 鈥渓ifesaver鈥� check, turning their heads to check blind spots. 鈥淚鈥檇 see this as perhaps an additional resource,鈥� he says.
This article appeared in print under the headline 鈥淗elmet vision could avert bike crashes鈥�
