A New Zealand company is joining the head-up display revolution with a small and light retrofit unit for riders so they can keep their eyes on the road, not on their speedo.
Auckland company Reyedr (pronounced rider) says their device can retrofit to the chin bar of any full-face helmet.
It shows speed, navigation, distance and other relevant information on a small peripheral transparent screen.
The information is “projected” forward so you don’t have to go cross-eyed. It basically looks like it is painted on the road surface.
What you seeEarly backers of the crowd funding campaign can buy one for $495 USD ($685 NZD/ $622 AUD). When it goes to market in March 2018, it will cost $575 USD ($789 NZD $722 AUD) plus shipping and taxes.
We’ve seen other retrofit devices costing much more. There was also the infamous Skully HUD helmet which went belly up after the founders allegedly squandered crowd-funding money on fast women and fast cars.
BMW and KTM are now working on producing retrofit and integrated HUD units.
Affordable retrofit unit
The Reyedr unit is a lower spec and more affordable solution for those who view this technology as a safety feature.
It also has an associated smartphone app that provides the rider with information about the bike, route and ride group. The app even alerts emergency services in the event of a crash.
Founder Kal Gwalani and co-founders Jens Steinigen and Simon Waters started working on the unit in 2015.
They say Reyedr reduces dangerous distractions and “enhances the ride by providing information needed within the motorcyclist’s natural line of sight”.
Kal rides a 1400cc Suzuki, Simon is a dirt bike rider and Jens goes for his learner’s licence in August and plans to buy a Yamaha MT-03 mainly for testing the HUD.
Reyedr founders (from left( Lens, Simon and KalHow it works
The “graphical user interface”, or screen, displays information in colours which change to draw attention when needed. For example, navigation arrows and distance to the next turn-off change from green to orange to red as you get closer.
Speed colours also change from green to orange when approaching the speed limit and red when you are over.
That sounds like a great warning device for riders in areas of high policing and speed camera use.
Reyedr HUD connects via Bluetooth 5.0 and an iOS and Android app. The app allows group ride setup, route planning, navigation and even saves photos and/or a map of their route.
The makers say it is an “opto-electro-mechanical” system, including a transparent screen using patented holographic technology to display a virtual image.
Images are generated through a bespoke LCOS system designed to work in all ambient light conditions. For the technically minded, screen resolution is 800×600 pixels with up to 4.3 billion colour combinations (32bit), equivalent to 2700ppi.
The makers have promised Motorbike Writer a finished product for review “sometime first quarter next year”. We will be interested to see how the rather large-looking unit performs.
In a couple of days of their Kickstarter campaign, they have raised 10% of their funding target. The project will only go ahead if it reaches its goal by .