As smart motorcycle helmets with head-up display (HUD) technology are starting to hit the market, Bosch has designed a HUD system that works with your normal sunglasses or prescription glasses.
They believe it will be available in 2021. But just how safe is it?
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How head-up display works
HUD is usually a system where a transparent periphery screen displays important information such as satnav turns and speed without the rider/driver having to look away from the road ahead at their instruments.
In some HUD systems, the display is projected on to car windscreens or helmets visors.
However, Bosch’s system uses a microelectromechanical scanner to bounce light off a holographic element built into the lens, directly on to your eye’s retina, not the glass lenses.
The glasses are completely transparent when turned off and the slim system does not need thick and bulky frames.
Bosch HUD glasses can be worn by drivers and all types of ridersThey are similar to expensive and heavy Google Glasses, but are flatter, lighter (only 10g) and work in all lighting conditions.
Bosch Snesortec boss Dr Stefan Finkbeiner says the display image is sharp, clear and always in focus.
“The Smartglasses Light Drive System is currently the smallest and lightest solution on the market and can convert almost any normal glasses into Smartglasses,” he says.
“With such smart glasses, users receive a lot of undisturbed navigation information and short messages. This makes driving safer and replaces the constant staring on smartphones or smartwatches.”
Safety or distraction?
While we can see the safety aspect of displaying vital information without the rider/driver taking their eyes off the road to look at their instruments, we are concerned with the application of this tech.
Bosch says their device will display information currently available on your smartphone or smartwatch.
“It is ideal for applications such as navigation, calls, wake-up calls, appointment reminders and short message services such as WhatsApp and WeChat,” Bosch says on its website.
Great! Just what we need is motorists being distracted by messages and apps.
With phone distractions considered as dangerous as drink driving, the last thing we need is for superfluous information to be available to motorists.
As usual, legislation to prevent this will be a long way behind the technology.
And how would police patrol for such tech if the glasses look like normal glasses?
Bosch will debut their Light Drive smart glass technology at the CES 2020 consumer technology expo in Las Vegas next month and hopes to have it available for manufacturers in 2021 under the product name BML500P.