ElectricMotorcycleForum.com
General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: Richard230 on April 07, 2016, 08:38:26 PM
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Here is the first independent review of the Skully AR-1 HUD helmet that I have seen. But still no hint what the price of the helmet might be. I bet it is not going to be cheap, though:
https://rideapart.com/articles/first-impressions-skully-ar-1-helmet
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I can't wait until those helmets get more mainstream, I love the Bluetooth connection in my helmet and a hud and integrated camera would really complement that.
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Here is the first independent review of the Skully AR-1 HUD helmet that I have seen. But still no hint what the price of the helmet might be. I bet it is not going to be cheap, though:
https://rideapart.com/articles/first-impressions-skully-ar-1-helmet
I did read somewhere that the expected price is $1200 - $1500 range. I'll try to dig up the link when I get home.
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Here is the first independent review of the Skully AR-1 HUD helmet that I have seen. But still no hint what the price of the helmet might be. I bet it is not going to be cheap, though:
https://rideapart.com/articles/first-impressions-skully-ar-1-helmet
I did read somewhere that the expected price is $1200 - $1500 range. I'll try to dig up the link when I get home.
The Kickstarter campaign quote was $1500.
I feel like this is too risky a price for a helmet (easily damaged/ruined, hard to fit all head shapes and preferences) and eventually a pluggable/modular design will win out. But whoever it works for will be pleased, no doubt.
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They are available on Skully's website for $1499....well....you can order it but the estimated delivery is "summer 2016"
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Here is the first independent review of the Skully AR-1 HUD helmet that I have seen. But still no hint what the price of the helmet might be. I bet it is not going to be cheap, though:
https://rideapart.com/articles/first-impressions-skully-ar-1-helmet
I did read somewhere that the expected price is $1200 - $1500 range. I'll try to dig up the link when I get home.
The Kickstarter campaign quote was $1500.
I feel like this is too risky a price for a helmet (easily damaged/ruined, hard to fit all head shapes and preferences) and eventually a pluggable/modular design will win out. But whoever it works for will be pleased, no doubt.
People who order this helmet are the tech freaks/pioneers with a lot of money and paving the way for such features to be mainstream in 10 years or so, much like the first Zero owners :)
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Tracy Bollard did a YouTube review of the Skully AR-1 (https://youtu.be/MRb51GJt4mY) which I found informative.
I feel like this is too risky a price for a helmet (easily damaged/ruined, hard to fit all head shapes and preferences) and eventually a pluggable/modular design will win out. But whoever it works for will be pleased, no doubt.
Yes, it is expensive. But let's consider that it's a helmet + bluetooth communicator + rear facing camera wrapped up in one package. It's not unheard of for a quality full-face helmet to cost $600+. Add a $300 integrated communicator and who knows how much for the camera system, it's starting to make sense how the price came about.
I did see & back a Kickstarter for a motorcycle HUD add on, similar to a Sena or Cardo system. But it didn't have the camera and they refunded the Kickstarter participants after they received VC funding. It's expected price was $500 for a basic system.
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Tracy Bollard did a YouTube review of the Skully AR-1 (https://youtu.be/MRb51GJt4mY) which I found informative.
I feel like this is too risky a price for a helmet (easily damaged/ruined, hard to fit all head shapes and preferences) and eventually a pluggable/modular design will win out. But whoever it works for will be pleased, no doubt.
Yes, it is expensive. But let's consider that it's a helmet + bluetooth communicator + rear facing camera wrapped up in one package. It's not unheard of for a quality full-face helmet to cost $600+. Add a $300 integrated communicator and who knows how much for the camera system, it's starting to make sense how the price came about.
I did see & back a Kickstarter for a motorcycle HUD add on, similar to a Sena or Cardo system. But it didn't have the camera and they refunded the Kickstarter participants after they received VC funding. It's expected price was $500 for a basic system.
Context: I own the $700 Schuberth C-3, with no bluetooth enhancements, and I paid roughly $70 for a highly convex RiderScan mirror to cover my blindspots. I bought the Schuberth after an insurance payout where my previous cheaper helmet saved my head, and the price is occasionally scary to contemplate.
I'm not saying that the Skully price is unfair; just that if my helmet breaks or wears out, I still have my mirror. Bundling all of that value together heightens the downside of helmet compromise.
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I'm not saying that the Skully price is unfair; just that if my helmet breaks or wears out, I still have my mirror. Bundling all of that value together heightens the downside of helmet compromise.
Hmm. If your Skully goes "thunk" on something, you still have your mirrors anyway. But I see your point.
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So I've had one of these on pre-order since the original campaign. I cancelled it today.
Over the past few years there have been back-to-back, persistent delays to the product and they've recently issued another 'shipping update' letting me know it now will not arrive until August-ish (maybe). I have no doubt that it's going to be an awesome product category, but they're getting dangerously close to loosing their first mover advantage.
That being said, I can't wait until it's comes time to replace the current lid and have a choice of smart helmets / get my hands on a rev 2.
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So I've had one of these on pre-order since the original campaign. I cancelled it today.
Over the past few years there have been back-to-back, persistent delays to the product and they've recently issued another 'shipping update' letting me know it now will not arrive until August-ish (maybe). I have no doubt that it's going to be an awesome product category, but they're getting dangerously close to loosing their first mover advantage.
That being said, I can't wait until it's comes time to replace the current lid and have a choice of smart helmets / get my hands on a rev 2.
That kind of reminds me of the Zero's first couple of years. In 2008 I had ordered a Zero via the internet (no retail dealers in those days) and the delivery date kept being pushed back and back, again and again, so I finally became frustrated, gave up and canceled my order. I then bought a 2009 Electric Motorsport GPR-S, which was actually on a retail dealer's (The Electric Green Store) showroom floor and could be purchased on the spot, for $8,300. Too bad a year later, just after the introduction of the Brammo Enertia, my dealer went out of business and it wasn't too long after that when Electric Motorsport changed their motorcycle brand name to "Native" and then they finally went out of business as a production electric motorcycle manufacturer (they now sell DIY kits). Dealing with a start-up company with a great idea, but a complicated product (such as the Lit C-1), is a risky business for the consumer.
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According to this news article, Skully has imploded:
https://news.slashdot.org/story/16/07/26/2123201/ar-helmet-startup-skully-has-crashed-and-burned
It sounds like the typical small start-up technology business with an innovative-sounding product. As soon as the investors arrive, if it doesn't make money right away, they shut down the operation and move on to something else. And of course, a lot of very smart and futuristic-thinking people who start these companies are not the best businessmen and are always underfunded, leading to a collapse of the company when trying to produce the product and get it into the market before the money runs out. :( Fortunately for us, the people who invested in Zero avoided that path and stuck with the business long enough to produce a viable product. :)
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Aaaand it's gone. Huge disappointment given I like seeing invitations succeed.
As of July 28
https://rideapart.com/articles/bad-worse-skully-systems-goes
The backstory on July 22
https://rideapart.com/articles/investors-remove-skully-founders-company
Last one, with a fairly good conversation in the comments.
https://techcrunch.com/2016/07/26/once-promising-ar-motorcycle-helmet-startup-skully-has-crashed-and-burned/
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And here is a link to the longest blog yet that I have seen regarding the demise of Skully helmets. Sure sounds like the typical "vaporware" company to me. Run into the ground by the management: :(
http://www.bikebandit.com/blog/post/high-tech-helmet-company-skully-closes-doors-after-ousting-founder (http://www.bikebandit.com/blog/post/high-tech-helmet-company-skully-closes-doors-after-ousting-founder)
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I was seriously considering to pre-order one of these. I'm disappointed.
Riding on the nearly vibration-free Zero DSR today I had a thought, would haptic feedback be interesting in the throttle grip?
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I was seriously considering to pre-order one of these. I'm disappointed.
Riding on the nearly vibration-free Zero DSR today I had a thought, would haptic feedback be interesting in the throttle grip?
You can actually do something similar if you have a smartwatch or one of those vibrating fitbits.
I have some notifications for navigation and speed traps and such and the haptic feedback is nice because you don't have to take your eyes of the road.
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I have watch-triggered haptic turn prompts from GPS. It's great!
Hope Nuviz can at least deliver...
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I just read an article that says that Skully has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which would not result in anyone getting their deposits back. >:(
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Riding on the nearly vibration-free Zero DSR today I had a thought, would haptic feedback be interesting in the throttle grip?
Now that's an interesting question. Hmm. I suppose the obvious question back is "To convey what information?". If it vibrated a bit with progressively more strength as you were regenerating... that might make sense. Although I do wonder if it would be redundant from the deceleration being progressively more pronounced. On the other end of things, if you were to vibrate when it was time to shift, that would be interesting... if you needed to shift on a Zero.
I think you're on to something, but I'm not sure it's appropriate for a Zero. On a Brammo I would say "Oh, definitely!" but not on a Zero. Imagine a throttle grip that would vibrate when it's time to shift! That would be awesome.
But I've had 3 gin & tonics at this point. What information would be conveyed for a Zero via haptic feedback in your mind?
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I saw one and picked it up. It was really heavy and the swoopy thing on the back is really big.
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I saw one and picked it up. It was really heavy and the swoopy thing on the back is really big.
I get the feeling that Skully had the right idea and was on the right track, they only needed about five more years of development to achieve a great consumer product with a lot of sales potential. Their problem was making unrealistic promises to their public and private investors and creating a pre-order, with deposit, system based upon those promises. They either had a very poor business plan, or management was just trying to milk everyone out of their cash and then run for the border. :o
I hope someone else can come along and give the HUD helmet concept another try. 8) But after Skully muddying the waters it is probably going to be tough for anyone to get investor funding for another go at the HUD helmet project for some time. :(
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http://lanesplitter.jalopnik.com/failed-hud-helmet-maker-skully-spent-r-d-money-on-strip-1785093398 (http://lanesplitter.jalopnik.com/failed-hud-helmet-maker-skully-spent-r-d-money-on-strip-1785093398)
Strippers And Exotic Cars.
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Just to nearly loop it back to the forum... "...four motorcycles..."
The lawsuit lists the cars by name... Lamborghini, Dodge Viper.
Doesn't give the motorcycles a brand, or even a country of origin. and it was a motorcycle helmet company.
Came really close to putting in a deposit myself. Then I found too many old links in Gizmodo of such innovations that are not there anymore.
Like Barefoot Motors... (Electric ATV from 2007) is completely gone.
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Skully Helmets has finally managed to hit the “big timeâ€. That would be in the business section of the San Francisco Bay Area's most widely distributed newspaper, the Mercury News. In a long article, written by Marisa Kendall of the Bay Area News Group, published today, titled: “Startup Accused of Misusing Cash†and subtitled: “Lawsuit filed by ex-assistant says founders expensed vacations, sports cars, strip club visit before company ran out of money.â€
In particular, the article says that the Skully helmet company is accused of spending its investors' funds on “vacations, sports cars, their San Francisco rents, weekly apartment cleanings, meals out and a strip clubâ€. The former Skully employee says that “the company was a 'sham' and the founders, brothers Marcus and Mitchell Weller, expensed their lavish lifestyles. When the money ran out last week, the company shut down.â€, according to the article. The complaint says that “The Wellers used Skully corporate accounts as their personal piggy banks and demanded that plaintiff conceal the true nature of the expenses by entering them in Skully's books to make it appear that the expenses were legitimate business expenses, which in fact they were clearly not.†The article says that the founders purchased two Dodge Vipers, an Audi R8, limo rides in Florida and a $2,000 charge at a strip club. When the employee, Isabelle Faithhauer, pointed out the error of their ways, she was fired and not compensated for much of her work.
2,000 crowd-funding backers dumped $2.4 million into the company, along with many hopeful customers who pre-ordered the helmets with a $1,400 deposit. Skully also raised $11 million last year from various investors, including Intel Capital and Walden Riverwood Ventures. The article says that the customers who ordered the helmets are unlikely to receive their deposits back and no one was promised a refund on the Indiegogo crowd-funding system. Skully's last CEO was Martin Fichter, who promised that Skully would deliver 400 helmets to customers by the end of July, with the remaining pre-orders shipping throughout the summer. “Less than a month later, Skully called it quits, announced the company plans to file for bankruptcy, and apologized to customers, employees and partners.â€
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I hope someone else can come along and give the HUD helmet concept another try. 8) But after Skully muddying the waters it is probably going to be tough for anyone to get investor funding for another go at the HUD helmet project for some time. :(
BMW presented something similar on the last CES: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdPGT1j4QN0 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdPGT1j4QN0)
Riding on the nearly vibration-free Zero DSR today I had a thought, would haptic feedback be interesting in the throttle grip?
But I've had 3 gin & tonics at this point. What information would be conveyed for a Zero via haptic feedback in your mind?
Stuff from your phone or GPS, I navigate purely on audio but sometimes I miss a street or something, having my smartwatch vibrate to let me know that I have to take the next right is really useful.
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Stuff from your phone or GPS, I navigate purely on audio but sometimes I miss a street or something, having my smartwatch vibrate to let me know that I have to take the next right is really useful.
I like this idea. A haptic pulse in the appropriate handlebar that would increase in frequency as you got closer to the turn. Make it go steady buzz right as you get to the turn, then still as you're actually making the turn.
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http://www.digitaltrends.com/outdoor/skully-ar-shuts-down/?utm_source=h1y1&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Skully_Ar_Shuts_Down_US_Desktop (http://www.digitaltrends.com/outdoor/skully-ar-shuts-down/?utm_source=h1y1&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Skully_Ar_Shuts_Down_US_Desktop)
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...A haptic pulse in the appropriate handlebar that would increase in frequency as you got closer to the turn. Make it go steady buzz right as you get to the turn...
Haptic feedback can also be featured in the pillion seat for uh, the complete vibrating engine experience.
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And if it won't work for motorcycle helmets, maybe it will for bicycle helmets. ??? (Anyway, those guys spend a lot more money on their equipment than motorcycle riders. So they can afford this kind of stuff, right? ;) )
http://boingboing.net/2016/10/06/augmented-reality-bike-helmet.html (http://boingboing.net/2016/10/06/augmented-reality-bike-helmet.html)