Skully AR1 – The First Augmented Reality (AR) Helmet
Skully helmet is the first Augmented Reality helmet that aims to simplify a biker’s life. It weighs around 1.7 kg or 3.8 pounds, almost same as regular helmets, but delivers numerous benefits. It is specifically designed in order to provide every minute and necessary details regarding the surroundings. This covers a wide area, i.e. rear, left hand side and right hand side. Its front glasses are wide enough to provide the vision of the upcoming direction. It has 180 degrees blindspot camera that shows what is behind and in the left and right direction. Due to the wide angle provided by the camera, the rear view doesn’t get blocked even if a passenger sits behind. Only a fractional part would be seen as someone sitting behind but that won’t bother the bike-rider due to such kind of negligible appearance.
The design of this Augmented Reality helmet was an idea of a person who met with a road accident, in the year 2010, after he glanced at the street sign for just fractional seconds and not on the road. Clearly he wasn’t familiar with the ways coming ahead and his rear view mirrors didn’t show the details of the surroundings at every direction. Since then he got the inspiration of providing safety helmets for the bikers.
There is also an option of GPS that shows the correct route. The audio and video facility could be enabled in order to get more detailed instructions. It does not obstruct the vision since it appears to be floating and is at the right hand side primarily. This heads-up display remains at the right hand side only because majority of the bikers are right eye dominant. The route can be set at the beginning of the ride in which the biker has to select a destination through the app provided by the helmet. Two choices are given out of which one has to be selected. This depends on the user if he is interested in going for shortest or the fastest route. The GPS has the latest update of the world’s almost every region. The helmet also contains real-time traffic alerts so as to avoid the area of high traffic jams in advance.
This real-time heads-up display makes the rider stay focused on the road with a slight glance at the side about the live display behind. This avoids sudden collision of the biker. Skully AR1 helmet has gone through several testing to ensure prominent functionality and safety. It is DOT/ECE certified helmet. Hence, one doesn’t have to worry about when it comes to its working.
The glass automatically darkens during the daytime when sunlight is at its peak. It then blocks most of the UV rays. It also has the facility of bluetooth that enables its connectivity with the mobile phone. So, one can pick up the phone or listen to music as and when required. If your bike too has the facility of Bluetooth it might pair up with the helmet but at this point they do not guarantee that the pairing would be successful in this case. Skully AR1 is a super duper comfortable Augmented Reality helmet that also can control the temperature inside as per the outside climatic conditions. This technology is pioneered by the NASA. If you wear the spectacles then also there is no problem at all. You will get the clear vision in both the cases, nearsightedness as well as farsightedness.
Skully helmet contains lithium ion battery that can work 5 to 8 hours of contiguous work straight. The charging of this battery could be done with any standard USB cable. It takes around 2 to 3 hours to get it fully charged. The battery is shielded properly in order to avoid its damage during an accident. The performance of the battery gets hampered in case of extremely hot climatic conditions. A person will need to change the battery after about every 3 to 5 years. The cost of this helmet is relatively high but by keeping in mind about its smart functionality, the cost seems reasonable.
