[Video Transcript]
Hello! I’m RyanF9 and this is motorcycle gear of the future.
Number one – rider airbags .
The first patent for a jacket-based airbag was filed by a Hungarian inventor in 1976. Around the same time Steve Jobs started a computer company, Sylvester Stallone starred in a boxing movie and Montreal hosted the Olympics.
So I guess rider airbags aren’t exactly “new.” But they’re still futuristic because as of today, most of us have never used one!
Of course MotoGP aliens get their hands on alien technology first. (A) So you’ll find the Alpinestars Tech-Air system on half the grid, (B) and most of the other half are sporting Dainese’s D-Air airbags. Unfortunately, racing systems are a tad pricey for us earthlings, but trust the public sector to find a cheaper alternative. (C) Helite provides airbag vests to police in Spain, (D) and Japanese officers have been protected by Hit-Air.
If the trickle down keeps trickling down, we’re going to see a huge number of civilian riders wearing airbags in the next few years.
So what does that mean?
On the positive side, it makes use safer. (Video x2) Manufacturers aren’t doing a great job of showing it, because they keep releasing test videos where the dummy smokes its head on the car while the airbag puffs up into empty space. But the truth is, airbags do prevent neck roll as well as protecting the chest so I can’t deny it: they make us safer.
But I also have concerns! I’m worried that rider airbags will eventually become mandatory, just like they have in cars. And that’s a problem because they’re hot to wear and very expensive.
You’re looking at a couple thousand dollars for the cordless airbag, and even the old-school ones, which are triggered by a tether attached to the bike, are north of 500.
Our next piece of futuristic gear just landed, and it’s the smart helmet!
There’s a bunch of childish bickering about who came up with the idea first, but LiveMap is whining louder than everyone else. Their domain name also goes back the farthest – to 2009 – so in all likelihood they really did invent the heads-up-display motorcycle helmet
LiveMap is trying to make a true HUD, meaning that your google maps, speedometer, fuel gauge – whatever it is – will be projected onto the visor itself . That allows the image to appear as if it’s floating a few hundred metres away, so your eyes won’t have to change their focal point between looking at the road and consulting the heads-up display.
Problem is, LiveMap is way too ambitious . (G) It takes a lot of space to project onto the inside of a visor, so the current prototype is comically large . They promise it’ll look like a regular helmet when it ships to consumers sometime next year, but I doubt either of those things are going to happen.
Skully was a lot quicker to birth their brainchild. (H) The AR-1 was briefly available for about 2 grand – the same price a LiveMap is supposed to cost if they actually make one. But Skully gave us a micro-display instead of a true HUD, so riders had to focus their eyes away from the road (video) to see the navigation, rearview camera and speedometer.
It’s basically just a Google Glass inside a motorcycle helmet.
The problem with that – other than the refocusing issue I just mentioned – is that the image resolution and brightness aren’t very good. Put simply, it’s hard to see the display on a sunny day.
An even bigger problem is that the whole thing was a scam. A recent lawsuit alleges that the Skully founders scuttled two and a half million dollars of crowd-funded money. Highlights include Lamborghini rentals, strippers, first-class tickets to Hawaii, two Dodge Vipers, four motorcycles and an Audi R8.
All “business expenses,” of course.
Trust ze Germans to take a more practical approach. (J) BMW has put engineers on the job instead of strippers, and they’re toying with the same HUD design as Skully. (K) Except they’re using a micro display that isn’t so micro, undoubtedly resulting in better optics.
Plus BMW is sure to make a higher-quality helmet. And they’re more likely to actually make the helmet in the first place.
One interesting idea worth mentioning is Nuviz . (L) Same principle except this is an exterior module that can be mounted onto any helmet. (M) Buffeting, uneven weight distribution and safety issues aside, I like that this lets me keep my Shoei or Arai or Icon.
But despite pulling in 200 grand on Kickstarter, Nuviz also welched and has spent the last two years hiding from an angry mob of backers.
Oddly enough, Nuviz recently broke radio silence to promise that they’re not dead and 2017 will be the year . “This time for real”… which makes a pretty hilarious quote.
Sena’s Smart Helmet is the last option worth mentioning. (N) No HUD on this one – just a bit of clever technology that analyzes road noise and cancels it out in real time. The Sena will probably be the quietest motorcycle helmet ever made when it launches, so Schuberth – you might want to start rewriting all your product descriptions now.
And notice how I said when the Sena launches, not if.
We already know (O) the full range of specs, (P) the final design, (Q) the Bluetooth add-ons (R) and the colour options. When you’re not dicking around with crowdfunded dollars, you don’t dick around with production. The Smart Helmet will be here . Last I heard they were planning on 1000-bucks-a-pop in the summer of 2017.
And finally, riders should be on the lookout for bike-integrated gear.
By that I mean apparel that exchanges information with the motorcycle to do its job better. Imagine a helmet that extends its spoiler when the bike speeds up. Or opens its vents when the motorcycle’s thermometer reads above 25 degrees.
A new company called ROAME has a similarly clever idea – (video) it’s a riding shoe that flashes brake and indicator lights. Of course if we’ve learned anything today, we’ve learned not to trust startups like that. But you can expect the big boys at Alpinestars or TCX to “borrow” the idea at some point. They’d probably execute it better anyway… fresh ideas and age-old craftsmanship is a winning combination.
And that’s it for my motorcycle gear of the future. Thank you very much for watching.