- LiveMap is a project that develops an augmented reality helmet for motorcyclists.
- Besides protecting the rider on the viewfinder display geographically referenced information and also offer GPS navigation.
- The system is based on Android and provides autonomy for a full day.
Augmented reality has long ceased to be a distant technology gradually, has been approaching users in applications such as Layer or larger projects like Google Glass. This ability to overlay information on what we’re seeing (and part of the surrounding environment) is something that is also coming to the automotive world and, for example, information is projected front window of the vehicle and is used as a screen. Drawing on this idea, a group of engineers and motorcycle enthusiasts in Russia have decided to port the augmented reality bike helmets by LiveMap project.
What is LiveMap? To some extent the project can remind a little interface that displays recent Tony Stark in Iron Man movies, as well as allowing his helmet view and protect the head, is capable of displaying data and images in the wake of augmented reality. In fact, this interface is the LiveMap team aims to bring the world of motorcycles with a helmet that integrate GPS navigation and therefore geo location.
In a car run a GPS is a complex, well-integrated in the vehicle itself or use an external one that we set, for example, to the front window. So take a look at the map or directions does not pose a hazard or a distraction and we can have the system voice prompts. However, on a motorcycle such actions are much more complicated and watch the GPS means looking away from the road and, obviously, it becomes difficult to hear the guidelines.
Taking the operation of some helmets used by fighter pilots (and shown on the display information to the pilot), this team of engineers has been working about 5 years to design a first prototype debug LiveMap waiting to take him to market over the next year 2014.
How does it work? LiveMap is an Android-based system that integrates a GPS system and a projector on a helmet. The idea is simple: to design display case on the directions of a GPS navigator, to make things easier, it has integrated voice control to send commands and commands in the same way we would with Siri. Obviously the system should not interfere with the vision of the motorist, therefore, it has a light sensor on the helmet to adjust images to the ambient light and also as travel speed increases will be adjusted to provide information wider field of view.
Two thousand dollars is the estimated price that could have this augmented reality helmet to be lighter, has developed carbon fiber and has also been fitted with a range that promise to be equivalent to a full day and have connection LTE and weather information as well as information on points of interest.
