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TECH NEWS
Lifebeam Smart helmet incorporates heart rate monitor + video
The Smart helmet is a really interesting new design from LifeBeam that measures your heart rate via a sensor on your forehead and relays it wirelessly to your bike computer. That means you don’t have to wear a heart rate strap around your chest.
LifeBeam is an Israeli company that uses technology developed for the defence and aerospace industries. They say that this sensor was first used by air force pilots who can be in danger of blacking out when subject to unusual G forces. The sensor is used to tell them if they’re at risk.
Here's Omry Czapnik from LifeBeam to explain how it all works:
Working with Lazer, LifeBeam have transferred the tech over to the sports world. The sensor sits right in the middle of your forehead and there’s a rechargeable processing unit incorporated into the back of the helmet. It sends your heart rate measurement via either ANT+ or Bluetooth 4.0 – you choose the version that works with the computer that you have.
The price of the helmet is US$199 if you preorder now, or US$250/€250 if you wait for the full release later in the year. Go to http://life-beam.com/portfolio/smart/ for all the details.
John has been writing about bikes and cycling for over 30 years since discovering that people were mug enough to pay him for it rather than expecting him to do an honest day's work.
He was heavily involved in the mountain bike boom of the late 1980s as a racer, team manager and race promoter, and that led to writing for Mountain Biking UK magazine shortly after its inception. He got the gig by phoning up the editor and telling him the magazine was rubbish and he could do better. Rather than telling him to get lost, MBUK editor Tym Manley called John’s bluff and the rest is history.
Since then he has worked on MTB Pro magazine and was editor of Maximum Mountain Bike and Australian Mountain Bike magazines, before switching to the web in 2000 to work for CyclingNews.com. Along with road.cc founder Tony Farrelly, John was on the launch team for BikeRadar.com and subsequently became editor in chief of Future Publishing’s group of cycling magazines and websites, including Cycling Plus, MBUK, What Mountain Bike and Procycling.
John has also written for Cyclist magazine, edited the BikeMagic website and was founding editor of TotalWomensCycling.com before handing over to someone far more representative of the site's main audience.
He joined road.cc in 2013. He lives in Cambridge where the lack of hills is more than made up for by the headwinds.
Latest Comments
- Spangly Shiny 29 sec ago
"That's, at the very minimum, three or four times less what I'd be stuffing down, I reckon."...
- Rendel Harris 6 min 33 sec ago
I would add to that, look at the curve of the junction. Why do we build junctions in such a way that it facilitates drivers being able to take them...
- bensynnock 37 min 30 sec ago
I see a car go through a red light at almost every single cycle at every single junction. ...
- chrisonabike 1 hour 35 min ago
Also don't forget - Sustrans are a charity *....
- chrisonabike 1 hour 47 min ago
Yes ... but (just due to the large numbers of people affected) this likely would only proceed in the UK at a very ... cautious ... pace....
- EK Spinner 2 hours 5 min ago
Arsehole in the van not with standing, how did they manage to get a risk assessment allowing a race (a group not a TT) group to be competing on ...
- RafaDy 2 hours 27 sec ago
I think reviewer completely missed the point here trying to match bike's name with what it can do. Ribble is namin git's bike weirdly, the...
- Moist von Lipwig 5 hours 26 min ago
Bit of googling gone wrong in the article - the JAT is the Junction Assessment Tool, the Joint Approval Team appears to be a coutner terrorism...
- HKR 6 hours 41 min ago
Can't believe that child threw his bike on the floor at the end of that. Young people today have no respect... ;))
Add new comment
19 comments
Who cares
Ok, I want one. Not sure about the Israeli connection though. But then the US have been a bit nasty in Iraq / Afghanistan etc etc. China is obviously out. Germany, Italy and Japan had that whole WWII thing, and Britain, Spain and France were not exactly nice to the world's indigenous people for a couple of hundred years there. Oh well, looks like I will have to knock something up myself......
Great idea, I'd buy one. The military origins doesn't bother me, can't say the same about the Israeli connection though.
I'm out. I'd rather have less weight on my head, no battery to recharge and my forehead already has a sweat barrier headband.
Why does it matter if the product was originally developed for military use? Refusing to use the civilian version developed of the military version isn't going to stop conflict. By definition it has already been developed by the military. A larger concern is civilian developed items that can then be altered for military usage. Either way there is way more money in military usage than cycling usage so just be happy with the wonderful products that trickle down
Great product. I've heard about it before and it's cool to hear they are making it to the market. The price is quite reasonable too considering the fact it's based on the top model!
Jeez - if military inventions was an issue I wouldnt have a non-stick pan never mind teflon coated cables or sprays.
Still...what price?
Also, does it require contact with the forehead or just positioning? Contact doesnt seem like a good idea...positioning tells me it could be an add-on to my own helmet choice.
GPS which is incorporated into all our mobile phones was a military invention - i guess as mentioned whether you agree with it or not alot of our modern technologies have military backgrounds.
Don't forget the internet was invented by the military during WWII
If this takes off we'll all look pretty cool exercising on our turbo trainers, exercise bikes, running machines and cross trainers!
I predict gym-related head injuries to be down 75% within 2 years!
Do you use GPS?
I'm no hawk, but you don't have to look too hard at materials like kevlar, carbon fibre and titanium to trace their early industrialisation to military uses.
Like it or not, the desire to blow up people you don't agree with has driven a hell of a lot of technological advances that we all benefit from, both in cycling and daily life. This one's just a bit more contemporary than most.
Great tech, but the taste is a bit sour, knowing that it was developed for military use. A military that uses those fighter jets against Palestinian civilians.
A year to develop shows the close relationship between military and civilian companies in israel; I suppose having a pacifist mentality would not help getting access to military tech.
It's bad enough being buzzed by cars or HGV's whilst cycling, I can't imagine what it would be like to be buzzed by an F16!
Ronin - be careful with what you say - the Israeli military do not use fighter jets to target Palestinian civilians. Yes - they use fighters in the conflict, and yes - Palestinian civilians have died as a result, which is undoubtedly a bad thing, as is any civilian loss of life in a conflict.
But you need to understand that the jets are not used for the purpose of targeting and killing civilians. They are used to target and kill militants and terrorists who are attacking Israel (for whatever reason) - and often Israeli civilians.
I know this is not the right forum for a middle eastern debate, but one needs to be clear on what they are saying. In any event, the technology that comes our of Israel, for both civilian and military purposes is exceptional given that there are so few people living there.
As for the helmet - seems a bit of a nonsense spending all that extra money on something for which there is no real need.
This isn't the place for the Middle East debate but surely Ronin is entitled to his view even if you choose to believe what governments say.
As for the helmet I'm more concerned about the tech being built into something that we are advised to replace after 3 years even if not damaged. It would be better if the sensor were removable.
Ronin is entitled to his view. But it is wrong. My view is not acquired from listening to what governments say via the media. I know for a fact what I have said is correct as several of my family and friends fly said planes.
So, absolutely no chance of any bias there then...
That's what I said, you just put it in a much better way than I did...
Lets face it, on the road us cyclists are all Palestinians!
The internet was developed by DARPA. Does hypocrisy and/or ignorance leave a sour taste in the mouth?
Hey, no worries, just flaming yer, you asked for it. But this gadget is cool, no silly chest bands. On a steep climb my pounding head works as a HRM already so collecting the data should be easy.
You call that flames, foolish mortal...
I agree the tech is cool. Perhaps the internet kills indirectly, but fighter planes tend to be more direct, and as that's the picture they were using, I'm just responding to their advertising.
Sorry, got carried away
I'm sure they are smart guys, I'm sure they would have thought about how to advertise this tech, and that's why I made such a comment.
But for now a certain Johny Storm would like to have a word