BMW To Bring HUD Tech to the Two Wheeled Road
It’s the open road, but not as we know it…..
Article by Ben Curwen
Finally, we can read Facebook whilst we ride. Thankfully no, but viable HUD (Heads Up Display) systems with far more relevant road information might finally be around the figurative corner.
At this years CES 2016 BMW Motorrad unveiled two prototype electronic systems giving hope to those that want to live out their fantasies as a fighter pilot; a glass display over the right eye projects a variety of user selected information over the rider’s view of the road ahead. This could be anything from speed and gear information, to navigation and dynamic road warnings. Certainly this could be a huge improvement on the hunt for data mounted on the bike; bar mounted sat nav systems for instance are excellent additions but tricky to read. It isn’t so much a glance down, but a dip of the head to get the helmet chin bar out of the line of sight for the instrument panel or bar mounted nav screen.
There is certainly a question of whether it is trading one distraction for another. Purists may argue that information flashing in front of the rider in a myriad of ways might be awkward or even dangerous. However, a key development would be that the user would be able to customize their view to get a comfortable level of information and minimize a crowding out of the riders vision and attention. Or perhaps to provide space for Candy Crush… The possibilities are endless.
Such additional possibilities would be that this system would enable a rear camera feed giving a ‘digital rear view mirror’ and end the chastisement of the near functionless mirrors on motorcycles, not to mention improve the bike aesthetic if they were removed altogether.
This could have huge implications for rider safety in spotting dangers from an aggressive white van man to emergency services coming through at speed. Not only this but having a real sense of where your fellow riders are in group riding could be hugely beneficial in keeping everyone together or alerting other riders to problems. In fact the system could automatically ping the other riders to inform them of issues with your machine and also mooted is the possibility of a visualization of where your fellow riders are around you.
So the future may be bright and electronic for riders, or perhaps just BMW owners. The controls for the demonstrated system are handlebar mounted and very much integrated into BMW’s motorcycle offerings using the Motorrad multicontroller. Certainly the bar mounted systems have strong advantages over the helmet mounted add-on systems currently like com systems from Cardo, and it definitely remains an easier task to turn on your indicators than fumble for buttons on the side of your helmet. Either way, it is probably unlikely BMW will make this system compatible with other non-BMW motorcycles.
Non BMW riders can take heart though as whilst other bike manufacturers have yet to disclose any plans for competing systems, independents like Skully, Bell and Nuviz are vying for a slice of your motorcycle vision (and wallet).
Skully Systems has its AR-1 unit scheduled for a summer 2016 release which is a full helmet and electronics package. Bell recently announced its collaboration with 360fly that would integrate video cameras on both on and off-road helmets. Nuviz is a start-up concentrating on add on systems that would give hope to those that didn’t want to give up their favorite lid but want the tech.
It will certainly be interesting to see how the tech market plays out in the motorcycle space which it’s fair to say has lagged behind many other areas, including cars. The smartphone essentially didn’t exist eight years ago and is now ubiquitous so perhaps it is hard to predict what will be possible with motorcycle innovation. Certainly the core function of navigation is very much a smartphone/software land grab, and the inherent tech in the motorcycles is improving from everything from traction control to display information. We may soon be spoilt for choice. 