Now crowdfunding, augmented reality glasses for cyclists

“For me, cycling is both a sport and a hobby,” says Beijing-based Li Jiwen. Twice a month he rides from downtown all the way out to the suburbs; he’s even tackled Qinghai lake, China’s largest, on two wheels – even though it’s over 3,000 meters above sea level.

Li has an engineering master’s degree in virtual reality and augmented reality and has experience working in the fields of AR and facial recognition. For his first startup, he’s working on a gadget that uses everything he knows – and applies it to cycling.

The Senth IN1 headset is like Google Glass for cyclists – an AR heads-up display that shows useful information and which can be controlled while on the move. Wearers can interact with it either using a touchpad on the side, voice recognition, or a specially-design Bluetooth thumb controller that can be attached to the handlebars.

Hitting the road

It’s now on Indiegogo where the team is hoping to raise at least US$40,000 from backers. It’s nearly at the goal with three weeks still to go.

Li and his teammates at InSenth started working on the smart cycling glasses back in late 2012 based on his idea to mix AR know-how with his favorite hobby. After more than a year of building and tweaking AR algorithms, a first prototype was ready towards the beginning of last year. By May this year, the fourth prototype was formed and lots of on-the-road testing began before heading towards crowdfunding.

InSenth’s Li Mingyue tries on the headset.

The cheapest Indiegogo package for the Senth IN1 is sold out (it was US$199), so the cheapest price right now is US$249. The plan is to ship them to buyers in December.

Out of the box, the Senth IN1 does activity tracking like speed, routes, and distance; plays music; supports calling and messaging; takes photos and videos; shares images and routes online; and does navigation and route planning. There’s also danger detection, which kicks in only when you’re using the headset for calls or messaging.

For some extra stuff, like cadence speed (how much you’re pedaling) or heart rate, you can attach some third-party sensors and those will show up on the Senth IN1 display.

First timers