15th April 2014

Thankfully, we’ve discovered the next best thing to the evolutionary impossibility: the SkullyP1 motorcycle helmet. The Skully P1 gives the ability to see behind you. This is a helmet that is more design revolution than evolution.

Top features

The Skully P1 has a heads up display that allows forward vision and lets the wearer see to the sides and behind. The rear view is made possible by an embedded camera and it also has a GPS navigation system to help you stay on track.

The experience of wearing the Skully P1 has been described as like having Google glass in your helmet. The great thing about the P1 is that the wearer can see directly behind them at all times.

Top benefits

Distractions when riding can be very dangerous and the P1 has a number of features that seek to minimise these. For example, the handle bars have a remote control in them and the helmet has a voice recognition system.

The obvious question is whether voice recognition is a sensible idea for the rather noisy occupation of riding a motorcycle? Well, take a look at the aerodynamic shape of the helmet. The rear fin reduces wind buffeting which in turn assists the voice control. The fin also houses the electronics and the rear view camera so you can’t lose!

A helmet that gives its wearer a rear view using a camera naturally has a few challenges to overcome. First of all, it has to be useable in all conditions. No-rider will want one helmet for riding in sunshine and one to wear at night. To tackle this, the P1 has incorporated ambient night sensors for night time use.

Two further challenges that Skully has to deal with are those of battery life and cost. Skully are aiming for a nine hour battery life which should be more than sufficient but costs are yet to be confirmed. With such an extensive list of features, price tags are expected to fall at the higher end of the scale but many riders may deem this justifiable when you consider the tech you’ll get for your cash.