SAN FRANCISCO: This website ran a story about the prototype Skully helmet in October last year, and guess what, the helmet with a head-up display is now ready for production.

When the AR-1 arrives in stores next May it will do so with a US$1,499 price tag - making it US$1 cheaper than Google Glass - but riders who reserve one now can save up to US$100 on a single helmet or get a US$349 discount on a set of two.

Skully started taking orders on Monday and set a funding target of US$250,000. Within 24 hours reservations totalled more than US$800,000 and counting.

Skully is using Indiegogo - an international crowdfunding site - as a way of taking initial orders and of funding mass production.

Described by US comedian Seth Meyers as "the cigarette of personal mobility" because it looks cool but it's going to kill you, a motorbike can be risky at the best of times. But, thanks to the Skully AR-1 Helmet, riding a motorbike is is getting a lot smarter, and safer.

The idea for a crash helmet with a heads-up display for navigation and an integrated rear-view camera was dreamt up by the company's CEO, Marcus Weller, Ph.D, while he was recovering from a motorcycle crash in 2011. The accident happened because, while riding, Weller glanced up to see a road sign and in doing so failed to see the car in front of him had come to a sudden halt.

Two years later, the company showcased the prototype helmet at the Demo Fall 2013 emerging technology and trends event in Silicon Valley in October, where it scooped a host of awards because of its potential to save lives.

Its integrated heads-up display provides riders with turn-by-turn navigation, smartphone alerts and notifications - such as incoming calls and texts - as well as access to the device's music library, contacts and dialer, all via voice command.

However, the smartest feature is the rear-facing ultra-wide-angle video camera, the feed from which is also integrated into the heads-up display.

It captures a 180-degree view of everything happening behind the rider, making for a potentially blind spot-free riding experience, even when cornering or overtaking.

Therefore, it was less than a surprise that, when the company opened up a beta testing program to get the helmet ready for a consumer launch, it received requests from over 100,000 riders. - Relaxnews

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