The makers of the basic EyeCo head-up display unit that flashes coloured alert lights in a rider’s peripheral vision claim it is a “Fitbit for your eyesight”.
EyeCo refer to it as a “personal co-pilot” that helps racers train and supplies basic navigation aids.
It looks more like a distraction to us, but it could have some applications for motorcycle racers and couriers, as well as mountain bikers, skiers, etc.
EyeCo is not like the sophisticated head-up display screens that are coming to motorcycle helmets. They will display a vast amount of programmable information on a transparent screen.
How EyeCo works
Instead, EyeCo magnetically snaps on to your helmet visor or goggles and flashes light and sound alerts that can be used for a small range of situations such as navigation and lap times.
For example, it could be programmed to flash blue for a left turn and red for a right turn or flash green if you are ahead of your best lap time or red if you are falling behind.
It could be handy for couriers with simple navigation signals or for commuters with a flash of red if you are over the speed limit.
They say you can choose colours to represent a range of data such as time, speed and elevation.
You can also program sound alerts, although it doesn’t say what they are.
While functionality appears limited, there is one handy safety feature where it detects if you have crashed and sends an alert to a pre-programmed contact.
We’re not sure how this works, but if it is like other similar devices, you should be able to cancel the alert if you’ve simply dropped the device.
Costly device
Despite its limited features it will cost $250 if it goes into production as planned in September.
The company is running a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo with a “flexible target” which usually means they don’t need the money to go into production, but it helps.
So far they have only raised $US4046 with a few days to go.
No wonder it isn’t getting much support: functionality is limited, it’s expensive, it could damage your eye if it comes loose in a crash and it could be a substantial distraction to have lights flashing in your eyes.
They say the light adjusts intensity to ambient light conditions, but it still seems like an unnecessary distraction.
The device is programmed via an iOS and Android app and can be charged wirelessly using Qi Charging which is the same technology as Iphone 8, IphoneX or Samsung phones.
Just place it the charging base and it will recharge. EyeCo is a low power device so they say it won’t take long to charge, but they don’t say how long the charge will last.