Bike Luminance is a Kickstarter project that aims to create a bike helmet with a motion reactive lighting system that will signal your turns with the tilt of your head. A prototype of the helmet has LED lighting that blinks to signal a right turn, left turn and stop, depending on how you incline your head while riding.
Creator Niam Busek designed the helmet mod using an Arduino Pro Mini chip with a FET driver shield. One problem he faced was that the chip used too much power, so he’s built a system to monitor the Arduino chip to draw less power, and allow the helmet’s electronics to go into sleep mode when not needed. This allows the helmet to sit on the shelf “for years” and still be ready to light up when you go for a ride.
The Bike Luminance project is a Kickstarter project looking for backers. So far Busek has raised $2,354 toward his goal of $28,000 with 32 days left in the pledge period. While he has a prototype, Busek needs to make a few adjustments before a helmet is ready for market. He has to change the LED lighting so it matches the light requirements of red and yellow that you see on cars. He also needs to weatherize the helmet and all the electronics so it can withstand commutes even on days when the weather doesn’t cooperate.
On Kickstarter Busek is asking for pledge amounts between $40 and $120, which gets you motion activated helmet turn signals including a mesh helmet cover, or two helmets. Busek suggests the second helmet can be given as a gift, or the investor can hack the helmet if changes are desired.
Bike Luminance Kickstarter Official Website
[via BoingBoing: Bike helmet with signal lights controlled by head tilting]