Skully AR-1 - The augmented reality headset for bikers

Who I am
Alejandro Crespo Martínez
@alejandrocrespomartinez
Author and references

Summary

  • The creation of the Skully AR-1
  • The augmented reality dimension
  • A prism that secures
  • A 180 ° rear camera that informs and protects
  • But some black dots
  • The characteristics of the Skully AR-1
  • Conclusion on the Skully AR-1

The creation of the Skully AR-1

The company Skully, creator of the helmet, embarked on this ambitious project in 2013 with the idea of ​​creating a more secure helmet and the fundraising that followed was more than up to their ambitions since the company succeeded in obtaining more than 2 million dollars. After a series of prototypes based on augmented reality, Skully came to create the Skyllu AR-1. Although it was still in prototype condition, more than 1700 bikers had bet on this helmet by buying it, then came the official release at the beginning of the year 2015, for the rather hefty price, but in adequacy with the technological quality of the Skully AR-1, from 1499 $. You can also get the helmet in its black or white version for the following sizes: S, M, L, XL et XXL. Before golf, today motorcycles.



The augmented reality dimension

To get to the heart of the matter, the Skully AR-1 is therefore a headset that is most banal but with the advantage of having an augmented reality display in the helmet visor. We told you, augmented reality will clearly change everything. Are you alarmed? This is quite normal. When you know that driving a motorcycle can be dangerous, we are very afraid of seeing helmets appear on our roads displaying images between the eyes of the rider and the road. But of course, the helmet was designed for this kind of problem and it turns out that a particular technology makes it possible to expel this danger, the prism.



A prism that secures

Indeed, the helmet displays its images via a prism placed in front of the face, at the level of the nose, by the way, this small device quickly becomes invisible once the helmet is on and does not interfere with visibility. But the most impressive thing about this prism is its ability to hide information at the right time, indeed, you will not actually see the information in augmented reality. than glancing at the prism, apart from that, the images will blur and become invisible to the user. In short, you only need a glance to want to see or not the information in AR.

A 180 ° rear camera that informs and protects

All this little world allows you to maximize comfort, but above all safety and although we would be afraid of a helmet that is too heavy, it is not. Certainly the Skully AR-1 is a little heavier than other helmets, but it remains in a suitable weight, while keeping its protective dimension, although it will be difficult to avoid the 1800 grams of the helmet. The helmet can thus display GPS information in augmented reality, with sound support. But this is not the only information he gives since the great advantage of the helmet and of having a rear camera that films and returns the image to the rider at an angle of 180 °, much superior to lambda mirrors putting blind spots in the closet.


Thus, the integrated GPS will show you visually and audibly the direction to take, in addition to integrating a 180 ° rear camera, the Skully AR-1 has an audio player, internet access, bluetooth, a connection with your smartphones but also a possibility to film your journeys, useful for example to prove your innocence in an accident (less if you are guilty).



But some black dots

But, because there is a but, several points are quite bad for this helmet and demonstrate that it should only be used by simple bikers. Indeed, the weight of the device endangers the lower back of the user over great distances, but above all, the price of the helmet makes any accident particularly costly, if the helmet is broken during an accident, it is $ 1499 that must be reinvested.

The characteristics of the Skully AR-1

The helmet has a system around the neck allowing reduce sweating by 70% with a 3D laser cut to create a helmet that is worn smoothly and recognized by the DOT and the ECE (safety label body) as safe. The visor has been designed to resist abrasions but also haze, rain, snow and dust.


Conclusion on the Skully AR-1

In short, the Skully AR-1, although not a perfect helmet in every way, is still very useful, but above all, it gives us a taste of the technology of tomorrow. This helmet, that we can broadly call the future, makes driving much easier and safer, but only on short distances and safe paths. Indeed, the weight of the helmet is too great if we swallow the kilometers and it is all the same quite dangerous to allow yourself to be disturbed by an image in front of the helmet if you drive in a risky path.



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