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What's up with the "HEADS UP DISPLAY"…bro?

9K views 29 replies 14 participants last post by  mcmonkey mcbean 
#1 ·
Also known as HUD

(wiki says) is any transparent display that presents data without requiring users to look away from their usual viewpoints.
Origin of the name stems from a pilot being able to view information with the head positioned ‘up’ and looking forward, instead of angled down looking at lower instruments.

Picture this!
Movie


Well maybe not :).


But this?
Lane Vehicle Road Helmet Mode of transport


My first helmet, I purchased 8 years ago, I bought a rear LED light for it, it fitted onto the shape of the helmet at the back (shame I never took a photo of it!?!) it was massive! a little box that came with it was wired into the brake lights, when the brakes where applied it sent a signal to the receiver in the light on the helmet.
It weighed 250grams (heavy) but to me at the time I thought this was a important improvement to the helmet. Okay…some people have funny ideas, I was going through a funny ideas stage.
I ditched that in my next helmet, but I still thought apart from protecting your head a helmet was a wasted bit of equipment.

However a bunch of different companies are racing to get an integrated HUD helmet to the market.
.

SKULLY AR – 1 aimed at making motorcycles safer by letting riders see what’s behind them with live feed from a 180deg rear view camera.

Motorcycle helmet Helmet White Personal protective equipment Clothing




Apart from the price… wowser!!! but it is new technology.

I am curious about this helmet which would look great on the r1200r “classic” by the way and a price is available mid 2015

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/skully-ar-1-the-world-s-smartest-motorcycle-helmet


Some other companies are addressing the HUD are

Review: BikeHUD by BikeSystems, the first motorcycle heads-up display

Reevu aims to be first to bring a motorcycle helmet HUD to market


I now have Bluetooth in my helmet, I like it, I don’t like to much gibberish from other riders speaking to me unless its short and sweet, but I can take phone calls, make phone calls.. call the wrong person:rolleyes:... well its not perfect, and listen to music.

On my 2007 r1200r the I don’t look down at the instrument panel much on the fly…its too hard to read, and the font is too skinny for my eyes, the speedo is fine.
Having that info at the bottom of visor could be the solution, if you could still use a scroll button from the handle bar well then all good…but I feel in the future buttons will not be there.

It would be good if you could custom build what information you wanted to see displayed in front of your eyes.
GPS, a traffic congestion app that lets you know a less congested route if you live in the city.
A LEO positioning app??:clown:

Price aside for all this new technology would forum members find “HEADS UP DISPLAY” useful? Helpful? Horrid?

If usefull what info would be important to you if you had “HEADS UP DISPLAY” in your helmet
 
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#2 ·
That first pic, Erin (bemused-looking Bloke staring at HU display) could not possibly be aboard a BMW motorcycle. It's not complicated enough....

I wouldn't mind some sort of HUD but it would have to be extremely simple in terms of what's being presented, and knowing BMW they'd want to dish up everything from what you had for breakfast to the fact you've forgotten your mum's birthday.

Speed, gear, that's about it! But I can certainly live without it - the fewer distractions on the road the better, I reckon, including GreenTooth and the like...

I'm with you, though, on the trickiness of easily reading the tiny numbers on many speedos, tachos, etc.

Good thread-starter!

L of S
 
#4 ·
Hi Erin (and everyone else), I would like HUD in my helmet. I'd like to keep it simple: speed and gear indicator, although I could do without the gear indicator. I'm 66 and I really struggle to read the speedo acurately on my 2012 R1200R: I just guess at the speed according to the angle of the needle. I can just about read my TomTom Rider 2. I don't have any problem for distance. I have toyed with the idea of finding some sort of magnifier to slip over the speedo. Any ideas, anyone? Until we get a simple, cheap HUD? Interesting to hear your experiences with your eyesight. RobA.
 
#9 ·
... I really struggle to read the speedo acurately on my 2012 R1200R: I just guess at the speed according to the angle of the needle.

I'm with you here, Rob, but the speedo on my late F800 GT was terrible in this regard. Eventually, I took three (3) small self-adhesive paper 'dots', red, green, orange from memory (but the colours are really immaterial - they could all be the same) and simply stuck them onto the face of the speedo at the 50, 80, 100kph indications where the speedo needle intersected with them - or closely enough. I could then immediately judge just by the dots lining up with the needle what speed, approximately enough, I was at.

I find the speedo on the R somewhat easier on my 75yo eyes, but still struggle at times!

L of S
 
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#5 ·
The only things I'd like on a HUD would be a small rear cam view and a passing car warning, if you try to change lanes and there's a car coming up. Why in the world would you need all that odo info in your helmet?
 
#10 ·
I don't necessarily like the marketing hype in this vid, so if you can get past this, the vid it gives you an idea of what its like from the pilot view of a small rear view screen on your visor screen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdcWd594lRw#t=95

Why in the world would you need all that odo info in your helmet?
Could be handy if your fuel strip has failed :) some info is just way to much, but if you could custom build it to your needs that is where I would find it valuable.
I would love other vehicle positioning built in and there direction of travel, living in a tourist town, and this sounds frightening, because it is, but visitors do make the mistake of driving on the wrong side of the road.:eek:
 
#7 · (Edited)
Agree with drDave. All I'd really want is a wide angle rear view in the HUD.
Looking at the Skully helmet makes me wonder why the camera is incorporated in the helmet and not maybe fixed to the rear of the bike. The camera could then stream the video to the HUD in the visor, making the helmet less bulky.

I have a ReeVu helmet which has a simple built in mirror system. You need to glance up just out of your straight ahead view to see a small but useful rear view. Once you have trained yourself to use it, it becomes second nature.
http://www.reevu.com/

That Skully helmet is a huge advance though, if the riders view is anything like that in the vid.
Wish I could see where this technology will end up. Fascinating stuff.
 
#11 ·
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#15 ·
I like the concept of HUD, and agree with others regarding my inability to read either the speedometer or tach on my '11 model. I don't enjoy distractions either, so something simple and possibly even cancelable. I wouldn't mind a proximity alert for those approaching to closely on the rear either, and possibly a laser-guided missile system for recreational purposes of course. There was an navigation app for either the iPhone or Android, both maybe that would approximate a HUD on the windshield of your car, but I don't think it was either implemented, nor received very well. I think we're very close to having something acceptable and I'd be willing to try it I suppose...oh what am I saying, of course I'll try it!
I've just installed an SRC system in my Schuberth C3 Pro, and enjoy the navigation prompts if nothing else. I don't know how to answer the phone yet, although I've read it several times now, and I still can't find any of the buttons on the SRC system and even when I do find them, I forget which ones are where, excepting the volume buttons (that's a start!). It took me several miles to find the lever for the sunscreen! So yeah...give me HUD and missiles...I won't last long, but it'll be a fun ride!

2bob
 
#19 ·
So yeah...give me HUD and missiles...I won't last long, but it'll be a fun ride!
2bob
"Better to be shot from a canon that squeezed from a tube"…(cool got to use that saying)
 
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#16 ·
Well, in that case, if I lived near Erin, I'd want a HUD with x-ray vision....
 
#22 ·
Reading the Instruments

Hello Everyone, Enjoying reading this thread, even when it degenerated into wishful thinking. Earlier, some of us who struggled to read our speedo's, talked about the possibilities of improving that, including the use of coloured stickers, etc. It all set me thinking, so yesterday I took my 4inch (10CM) hand magnifying glass to the garage, placed it over my speedo, which is about 3inch (7.5cm) to see if this improved things. I think I may be on to something here. It certainly made the speedo clearer. Not yet thought how to put such a device into place, and if indeed, it would have reflection problems, but you never know, it may help. Also searched the net for magnification devices and then wondered about the plastic magnifying sheets produced (very cheaply) for people with poor eyesight to help them read magazines, books and newspapers. Any other ideas? RobA.
 
#23 ·
...so yesterday I took my 4inch (10CM) hand magnifying glass to the garage, placed it over my speedo, which is about 3inch (7.5cm) to see if this improved things. I think I may be on to something here. It certainly made the speedo clearer. Not yet thought how to put such a device into place, and if indeed, it would have reflection problems...
You problee wouldn't want to affix the mag. glass in-place permanently, I imagine. My way would be to use some Blue Tack around the edge of the m/g, which will secure it proud of the speedo glass so as not to scratch it through vibration, etc. It would also absorb some of the vibration AND be easy enough to remove and replace, e.g. when cleaning the bike, etc.

I have a similar sized m/g here somewhere which I use to read micron-sized print on some of my maps - I'll give my own suggestion a try and advise. Something else to fiddle with...!

L of S
 
#25 · (Edited)
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#27 ·
Oh good!

Don't know how far BMW have got with their version of a Heads Up Display Helmet

But one helmet designer from Japan has been busy


 
#28 ·
That is a Kickstarter thingy. Just like how Skully was. I would think a lot of people will be wary pre-ordering this helmet considering how many people got burnt by Skully.

I would love a helmet like this though.
 
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#29 ·
Not for me - don’t need the complication when riding.

It promises a reduction in wind noise, potentally through active noise reduction, which would be the one thing I really would appreciate.

Wouldn’t be prepared to commit to something like this (if I was interested) without trying it first though.
 
#30 · (Edited)
For me, I would find the rear camera valuable.

At lights I'm always staring into my rear mirror see what speed traffic is coming up behind me, whether i can see if they are texting or doing some dumb thing not to see me waiting.

I've then to look out the front for light changes....a camera would take keep my head up looking ahead.
Would like to customise the read outs with the rear camera though such as speed etc.....little bit like the instrument display options the LC has.

I think these helmets in the future will be the ducks nuts, unfortunately in development stage they are going to be really expensive.
 
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