yellowlemon
Active member
I've been reading a lot of forums how people wish there was a HUD display for motorcyclist. There has been pros and cons for having it and as much as I understand the cons I lean more towards the pro side. So, secretly for the past couple years I've been making my own. Mostly to see if the technology was available to easily produce one. When I started this the technology was lacking to make a universal, easy setup, no cord tangle system. Yes, hard to believe that in two years technology changed so much that things we dreamed of can now be real. Although my setup isn't 100% the tech is available now for me to make the update more easily.
Took me some time to find a way to throw all this stuff together and fit into a helmet. Not only just fit, but make it universal. Naturally the biggest challenge was how/where to place the display so it doesn't block the view and yet be visible.
After a while I managed to get it all to fit and have been test running it for a year. The rear view camera was nice. Worked as I hoped but I later on realized that come night fall it's useless. The camera would require both day and night capability. The use of my iphone with a nav app like tomtom was perfect. I could see where I had to go, the app's speeding warning option told me if I was going too fast, plus i could play music as I rode. One of the downfalls at the time was stupid popup messages like texts or email notifications. At the time the iOS was 3.0 and when ever you got a message pop up it would stay there until you clicked on something, which while riding is not so easy. Now the new iOS takes care of that.
The only thing I never go around to do was try to get the camera and nav app to work together so that I could switch back and forth easily. This was more of a software issue so I didn't bother. After a while I just took out the camera part. It was nice to have and knowing it could be done was enough for me.
As you can see from the pictures there are wires that come out of the helmet to feed into the iphone. Much like anything else you get used to it. What's great though is that with the advancement of bluetooth, all this can be wireless. With the exception of the black box that controls the display. But yet another technology advancement is the ski/snowboard goggles by recon instruments. They've managed to make that black box smaller and have it bluetooth compatible. And now contour helmet cam company has joined forces with recon instruments to integrate the two together via bluetooth. I love it when companies get together to make something worth while. As you can see, my HUD piece is not too far off from what recon instruments created. They're just looks nicer. =P
The placement of the display can be done left or right depending on what your dominant eye is and it's pretty much universal. From most helmets that I've had the chance to look at I found that there was a small gap at the front where the liner slips in. I created a tab with adjustable hinges to fit in there and you can move it to fit your view. The best part about having it up there is that it's out of the way from regular view. If you want to see the HUD you look up or if you have pretty good control of your eyes you can have it right in front of you. It's like looking at a sign on a glass store front. Your eyes can focus on the sign that's on the glass or look past it and focus on the stuff inside the store.
Ive created a simulation photo of how it would look. I've tried taking actual pictures of it while functioning but all you see is just a bright square where the display is. The simulation is pretty close to what I see with the exception of the black frame that holds the display that I didn't include. Because it's a mono display one eye sees the HUD the other sees the street and the brain overlaps them together to make the HUD look translucent. If I really need to see the HUD I close one eye (when I'm stopped of course). It's really hard to imagine how the view works. The biggest part people have a hard time accepting is that you can see from such a small screen. It's one of those things where you just have to try it to believe it.
Incorporating RPMs, gear position, speed, ODO, would all be dependent on being able to connect to the bike's computer which is not something I'm ready to do with my bike yet. But it is possible.
So all you wishing for a HUD, your wish is just around the corner. It is possible. I've proved that it can be done so you should expect it soon. I'd give it a year. If it doesn't I'll jump on it and make it. =P
PS- During my test runs I noticed a few bikers looking at me and the wires coming out of my helmet all confused. If you're one of the few, now you know what that was all about. LOL.
Took me some time to find a way to throw all this stuff together and fit into a helmet. Not only just fit, but make it universal. Naturally the biggest challenge was how/where to place the display so it doesn't block the view and yet be visible.
After a while I managed to get it all to fit and have been test running it for a year. The rear view camera was nice. Worked as I hoped but I later on realized that come night fall it's useless. The camera would require both day and night capability. The use of my iphone with a nav app like tomtom was perfect. I could see where I had to go, the app's speeding warning option told me if I was going too fast, plus i could play music as I rode. One of the downfalls at the time was stupid popup messages like texts or email notifications. At the time the iOS was 3.0 and when ever you got a message pop up it would stay there until you clicked on something, which while riding is not so easy. Now the new iOS takes care of that.
The only thing I never go around to do was try to get the camera and nav app to work together so that I could switch back and forth easily. This was more of a software issue so I didn't bother. After a while I just took out the camera part. It was nice to have and knowing it could be done was enough for me.
As you can see from the pictures there are wires that come out of the helmet to feed into the iphone. Much like anything else you get used to it. What's great though is that with the advancement of bluetooth, all this can be wireless. With the exception of the black box that controls the display. But yet another technology advancement is the ski/snowboard goggles by recon instruments. They've managed to make that black box smaller and have it bluetooth compatible. And now contour helmet cam company has joined forces with recon instruments to integrate the two together via bluetooth. I love it when companies get together to make something worth while. As you can see, my HUD piece is not too far off from what recon instruments created. They're just looks nicer. =P
The placement of the display can be done left or right depending on what your dominant eye is and it's pretty much universal. From most helmets that I've had the chance to look at I found that there was a small gap at the front where the liner slips in. I created a tab with adjustable hinges to fit in there and you can move it to fit your view. The best part about having it up there is that it's out of the way from regular view. If you want to see the HUD you look up or if you have pretty good control of your eyes you can have it right in front of you. It's like looking at a sign on a glass store front. Your eyes can focus on the sign that's on the glass or look past it and focus on the stuff inside the store.
Ive created a simulation photo of how it would look. I've tried taking actual pictures of it while functioning but all you see is just a bright square where the display is. The simulation is pretty close to what I see with the exception of the black frame that holds the display that I didn't include. Because it's a mono display one eye sees the HUD the other sees the street and the brain overlaps them together to make the HUD look translucent. If I really need to see the HUD I close one eye (when I'm stopped of course). It's really hard to imagine how the view works. The biggest part people have a hard time accepting is that you can see from such a small screen. It's one of those things where you just have to try it to believe it.
Incorporating RPMs, gear position, speed, ODO, would all be dependent on being able to connect to the bike's computer which is not something I'm ready to do with my bike yet. But it is possible.
So all you wishing for a HUD, your wish is just around the corner. It is possible. I've proved that it can be done so you should expect it soon. I'd give it a year. If it doesn't I'll jump on it and make it. =P
PS- During my test runs I noticed a few bikers looking at me and the wires coming out of my helmet all confused. If you're one of the few, now you know what that was all about. LOL.
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