Motorcycle helmets, while being essential life-saving safety equipment, do come with some drawbacks, the biggest among which is the large blind spot behind the rider. While rear-view mirrors do eliminate some of that, the size and position of the mirrors doesn’t make the problem go away entirely.
A wise rider soon learns to look over his or her shoulder before making a lane change, or check the blind spot on regular occasions, and not just rely on the mirrors. American outfit Intelligent Cranium Helmets, based in West Virginia, believes it has the answer to this safety concern with the iC-R helmet.
Now in prototyping stage, the iC-R helmet uses two cameras mounted on the back to provide the rider with a 210-degree viewing angle, which is reproduced inside the helmet on two translucent LCD screens. In addition to the camera views, there is also a set of proximity warning LEDs, that light up amber or red, depending on how close an approaching vehicle is to the rider.
Intelligent Cranium has also built-in Bluetooth connectivity into the iC-R, allowing the rider to connect to a smartphone, and speakers to relay verbal information and music. The system connects to an app, and various types of information can be displayed on the right-hand LCD screen, including speed, directions, calls, messages and the like.
Somewhat reminiscent of the BMW Connected Ride HUD, the Intelligent Cranium iC-R comes with an external charging port, and a top-mounted solar panel, to keep the helmet’s fully-charged. The visor darkens electronically with the touch of a button, eliminating the need to change visors, or have a built-in tinted visor.
Now in its design and prototype phase, Intelligent Cranium says that the beta-version of the iC-R will be out in July 2016, while customer deliveries are expected to begin at the end of the year at a retail price of USD$1,499 (RM6,168). Early birds can pay a USD$300 (RM1,234) deposit, with the balance of USD$899 (RM3,699) plus shipping due when the shipment is ready.
Also no use la..motorbikers love to stay in car’s blind spots most of the time..
never heard of lane filtering? or we are plainly become ignant these days?
Next we’ll see some genius watching youtube on it
bye side-mirrors..
Yeahhh now I can have a helmet that are pricier than my EX5.
not bad for the price that save your life.