The Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas was once purely aimed at tech companies but it’s becoming an important event for car and motorcycle firms as computers infiltrate every element of life.
That’s why BMW’s latest prototype helmet design has been revealed there instead of at a motorcycle event.
As you’d expect, it’s a bit more than just a helmet, since it incorporates a head up display that’s being developed to help bring vital information to riders without the need to check their instruments.
BMW is clear that while this is a prototype, it’s a technology that’s destined for production in the next few years.
Being based on a built-in computer and a display screen, the possibilities for the HUD are almost limitless. BMW initially envisions it being used simply to display important information like speed as well as alerting riders to problems or risks. For instance, tyre pressure drops could be displayed on the screen, and BMW also hopes that it will be able to incorporate the HUD into the vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) technology that it’s developing in league with several other manufacturers, where cars and bikes ‘talk’ to each other, sharing information about their position, speed and direction and alerting others to hazards before they come into view. The display would also probably be used for sat-nav directions.
BMW also plans to fit the helmet with front and rear cameras. The front one would be largely for leisure – effectively a built-in action-cam for recording rides – while the rear will provide a digital ‘mirror’ for the rider, displaying what’s behind him on the HUD.
All the display’s functions are controlled from a unit on the left hand bar, and the helmet is powered by two replaceable batteries that give it around five hours of use.
As well as the HUD and built-in computer, the helmet incorporates speakers, presumably allowing the rider to listen to music, receive phone calls and get audible alerts as well as the visual ones from the display.
