CES is where all the cool kids are, but it’s also where a ton a companies unveil new technology in hopes to make our lives and industries better.
Action-sports helmet-industry leaders BRG—the guys and girls that make Bell Helmets—have introduced the 360fly, complete with proprietary 360-degree 4K video. Gone are the days of looking like a douche with your GoPro mounted on the top of your head or on the front of your chin bar.
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This innovative product will be made available on bicycle, snow, off-road and on-road motorcycle helmets including:
- Bell Star with 360fly – Driven by the essential needs of the modern racer, and completely new for 2016, the Bell Star is the most advanced full-face street motorcycle helmet on the market today.
- Bell Moto 9 Flex with 360fly – Bell's most comprehensive off-road motorcycle helmet, featuring its proprietary "progressive layering" energy management system.
- Bell Super 2R with 360fly – Bell's most versatile and award-winning all-mountain helmet, with an innovative detachable chin bar feature for maximum performance and adaptability.
- Giro Edit with 360fly – Giro's lightest full-featured snow helmet.
"The benefits of integrating digital video and intuitive digital technology into action sports helmets is a ground-breaking advancement for our sports," said Terry Lee, Executive Chairman & CEO, BRG Sports. "This "smart helmet" collaboration with 360fly is yet another landmark milestone within our 60-year history of helmet innovation and industry leadership."
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"From day one, our focus has extended beyond the baseline benefits of immersive 360-degree VR content, and into the expansive universe of intuitive "smart" technologies that our single-lens technology enables," said Peter Adderton, 360fly CEO. "These helmets are merely the first of many unique applications for these technologies enabled by our proprietary 360fly 4K platform."
All four helmets feature an integrated 360fly 360-degree 4K camera, capable of also shooting conventional 16x9 video. The video capabilities are driven by 360fly's proprietary mobile app, featuring a simple user interface that allows users to instantly edit and share content to popular platforms such as Facebook or YouTube.
Shooting at 2880 x 2880 at up to 30 FPS, the integrated camera also includes a built-in GPS sensor to tag locations, a barometer/altimeter and accelerometer all powered by an advanced Qualcomm® Snapdragon 800 processor. Like the original 360fly camera, the integrated camera comes standard with Bluetooth, built-in Wi-Fi and has up to two hours of battery life.
For significantly added value, the integrated 360fly camera is detachable, allowing it to be utilized independently of the helmet by the user in the widest variety of lifestyle applications.
In addition to the existing mobile app functionality featured in the integrated helmets, 360fly's CES exhibit showcased live demonstrations of several new technologies that are a result of the company's new 360fly 4K platform, and are currently planned for inclusion across the advanced BRG Sports helmet line including:
- AutoPilot action tracking – Allows users to track and follow the main subjects in their videos, making it easy to create dynamic edits with the rider at the center of it all.
- Collision Avoidance Alert – Senses and automatically notifies the rider of potential oncoming dangers that are outside the rider's natural field of vision.
- Live Streaming – For professional, commercial, or advanced users looking to live stream 360-degree video, the integrated camera pairs with its Micro-HDMI accessory base (sold separately) and is able to output a real-time full 360-degree HD video stream.
These features will undergo a rigorous series of trials and tests over the coming months in preparation for the helmets' retail debut later in the year.
Another new feature planned for the camera-integrated helmet line is "Highlight Reel" – an auto-editing function that compiles a one to two minute highlight reel based on the specific sections of video that feature the most action.
The majority of VR devices on the market today are purely focused on consumption of VR content and not creation. From day one, 360fly's mission has been to put the power to create immersive personal VR content into the hands of consumers. There simply is no other comparable option for creating and consuming 360-degree immersive video and personal VR content on the market today.
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Looks like the 360-degree movie market is taking over, and for us motorcyclists this could very well be one of our best tools in capturing content for fun and for safety when navigating the urban jungle.