Sports

Sportiiiis turns ordinary sunglasses into heads up display eyewear for cyclists

Sportiiiis turns ordinary sunglasses into heads up display eyewear for cyclists
Sportiiiis HUD for athletes can be mounted on virtually all glasses, wirelessly pairs with perfromance monitoring equipment and feeds back workout information to the user via colored LEDs and audio
Sportiiiis HUD for athletes can be mounted on virtually all glasses, wirelessly pairs with perfromance monitoring equipment and feeds back workout information to the user via colored LEDs and audio
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The Sportiiiis Head Up Display can be mounted on virtually all glasses thanks to included universal attachment points
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The Sportiiiis Head Up Display can be mounted on virtually all glasses thanks to included universal attachment points
Designed for cyclists and runners, Sportiiiis feeds back critical performance information gathered from ANT monitoring devices via seven multi-colored LEDs and external audio
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Designed for cyclists and runners, Sportiiiis feeds back critical performance information gathered from ANT monitoring devices via seven multi-colored LEDs and external audio
The Sportiiiis Head Up Display features a built-in speaker for providing audio feedback
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The Sportiiiis Head Up Display features a built-in speaker for providing audio feedback
Performance feedback from paired ANT devices such as heart rate monitors, power meters, and cadence or speed modules is provided via a simple LED notification system that informs wearers whether they're within a pre-configured optimum workout zone
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Performance feedback from paired ANT devices such as heart rate monitors, power meters, and cadence or speed modules is provided via a simple LED notification system that informs wearers whether they're within a pre-configured optimum workout zone
Sportiiiis HUD for athletes can be mounted on virtually all glasses, wirelessly pairs with perfromance monitoring equipment and feeds back workout information to the user via colored LEDs and audio
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Sportiiiis HUD for athletes can be mounted on virtually all glasses, wirelessly pairs with perfromance monitoring equipment and feeds back workout information to the user via colored LEDs and audio
Instead of complex graphic visuals that might cause cyclists to look away from the road ahead at a critical moment, Sportiiiis feeds back performance information via 7 LEDs outside the primary vision zone
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Instead of complex graphic visuals that might cause cyclists to look away from the road ahead at a critical moment, Sportiiiis feeds back performance information via 7 LEDs outside the primary vision zone
Users configure the seven multi-colored LEDs and instruct the unit to respond to input from any ANT device using Mac, PC or smartphone software
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Users configure the seven multi-colored LEDs and instruct the unit to respond to input from any ANT device using Mac, PC or smartphone software
The Sportiiiis HUD in use after being showcased recently at Interbike 2011
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The Sportiiiis HUD in use after being showcased recently at Interbike 2011
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Canada's 4iiii Innovations has developed a Head Up Display for athletes that can be mounted on virtually all glasses thanks to included universal attachment points, so there's no need to stop wearing your favorite pair of sport sunglasses. Sportiiiis - pronounced "sport-eyes" - receives crucial performance data from any paired monitoring device via ANT+ wireless technology, compares actual performance with desired workout zone parameters and then feeds real-time indicators back to the user via colored LED lights and audio updates.

Unlike systems like the SportVue retro-fit HUD for motorbike and bicycle helmets or the Transcend ski goggles, Sportiiiis doesn't offer graphic visuals that might cause cyclists to look away from the road ahead at a critical moment. Performance feedback from paired ANT+ devices such as heart rate monitors, power meters, and cadence or speed modules is provided via a simple LED notification system that informs wearers whether they're within a pre-configured optimum workout zone.

If the cyclist or runner sees a red LED light up on the flexible boom that sits in the space between the lens of the chosen eyewear and the user's eye, the athlete is working too hard and needs to ease off a little. Green means the user is in the zone and yellow or orange is somewhere in between.

The Sportiiiis Head Up Display can be mounted on virtually all glasses thanks to included universal attachment points
The Sportiiiis Head Up Display can be mounted on virtually all glasses thanks to included universal attachment points

The water-resistant device also features a built-in speaker for providing audio feedback - in English only at the moment but the company is working on other language packs - and doesn't cover the ear so is safe to use on the road or track. Tapping on the side of the unit prompts an instant audio update and double-tapping cycles through the paired devices.

Users configure the seven multi-colored LEDs and instruct the unit to respond to input from any ANT+ device using Mac, PC or smartphone software. Both the brightness of the LEDs and the volume of the speaker can be adjusted on the unit or via compatible Android/iOS smartphone applications. The company also says that the onboard battery should be good for around ten hours.

The Sportiiiis HUD for cyclists and runners is available from next month, prices start at US$199.

The following video overview shows the kind of thing you can expect from the Sportiiiis system:

View gallery - 8 images
2 comments
2 comments
Racqia Dvorak
Cool, HUD technology moving more and more into the private sector.
Kathy Kaur
Wow. This is cool. Does anyone know how to become a authorize dealer of this HUD.