- What do cyclists have in common with fighter pilots?
Well not too much, maybe ninja-like reflexes?
(laughing)
Well maybe some of us at least,
but probably, we don't have much more in common.
But actually now, we might be able
to add something else: heads up display,
i.e., your essential data in your field of vision,
because Everysight have invited us to take a first look
at their brand new Raptor augmented reality glasses.
(urban music)
I know what you're thinking, this has been done before,
and yes there are other smart glasses
out there on the market that cater for us as cyclists.
But with the Raptors there are a few very key differences.
With these, the display is completely integrated,
i.e., it's not an add-on.
So inside these glasses is a mini-projector with an LED.
And it's not just any LED; no, it's an organic one.
Now I don't know exactly what that means,
but what I do know is that organic LEDs
are used in posh televisions and monitors,
and they also use less battery life,
which means that you can use these
for up to eight hours of riding.
Everysight are calling this "Beam" technology and it is that
which puts your chosen information and data fields
directly into your field of vision.
Now, before you start thinking
this is just another novelty company
that will disappear quickly, let me tell you,
these Raptors have been 15 years in development,
and Everysight is a spin-off of
a company called Elbit Systems;
they provide the vast majority
of the world's fighter pilots with their heads up displays.
So, they kind of know what they're doing.
(upbeat techno music)
So why would you want to use these?
Well despite the fact that they put information
into your field of vision, wearing these
means that you can simultaneously
keep your eye on the road in front of you
while still looking at some of your key stats.
In fact, if Chris Froome were to use these,
we would know once and for all
if he does constantly look at his power
or if he does indeed have a fetish for steps.
The display though, certainly isn't that distracting.
It's quite hard to describe to you
unless you use them yourself, but
in order to look at the display,
you just need a quick shift in your focus
and as soon as you shift your focus back to the road,
you really don't notice the display that much at all.
You might be thinking that Everysight Raptors
are only for data-driven people,
those that like to keep a constant eye
on their speed, power, heart rate, et cetera.
And they're great for those people,
with a whole load of different data fields possible
and lots of data screens which you can swipe through.
But these have got a lot more than just numbers.
Let me explain.
(upbeat techno music)
Inside these is an enormous amount of technology.
There is an Android operating system,
32 gigabytes of internal storage, 2 gigabites of RAM.
There's an accelerometer, a barometer, a magnetometer,
a gyroscope, and a proximity sensor and more.
And I've actually left out a very key one;
also inside here, is G-P-S.
That means that on the display, you can see the routes
that you should be taking, and that's a key point
for any of you who like to plot routes
or simply get from A to B in a place that you don't know;
all you've got to do is follow the line in front of you.
Just create the course online and send the GPX file
straight to these glasses.
And actually, there's more; also in these is a camera,
just here, and it doesn't get much more POV
than camera that sits directly between your eyes.
You can take photos or you can take video,
and actually the video is pretty good quality, HD in fact.
And if you've got the 32 gigabyte version of these,
you can record up to three hours of video footage
in a single ride.
(upbeat urban music)
To use the multitude of functions, you have three options.
First of all there is a touch sensor
here on the right arm, which you can swipe and tap.
And it's surprisingly intuitive
and you get used to it very quickly.
Secondly, you can use a remote control
on your handlebars, like so.
And lastly, for certain functions,
you can use voice activation.
- [Computer] Starting ride.
- Go, Everysight; record video.
(computer chimes)
And that voice activation means that
there is of course in these, a microphone.
And I can tell you, there's also
a speaker which can play music
and give you various bits of information.
And although not currently a function,
the combination of those two, you would presume
will eventually mean you can answer telephone calls.
And yes I know, loads of you get on the bike rides like this
to get away from all that stuff on your phone,
but on the odd occasion when your family's
desperately trying to get ahold of you,
you'll be able to answer that call safely
without taking your hands off the bars.
What you can already do, if you so wish,
is read the first line of any text
or WhatsApp messages that come through.
Another exciting function is that you can follow workouts;
so perfect for the fitness fanatics amongst you.
You will see what zone you should be in,
how close you are to being in the correct zone,
and also how long you have on each interval.
All you need to do is design your training session
on the Everysight app and send it over to the glasses.
And talking of the app, you could also use that
to customise various parts of the glasses.
So for example, where exactly the data sits
in your field of vision, and also how big or small
that display is.
And if at any point you just don't want to see
any of this information and data,
all you need to do is press a button on the remote control,
or the power button on the glasses, and it will disappear
whilst continuing to record your ride data.
(urban music)
So what have I missed out?
Well you can already auto-upload your rides
to Strava if you so wish, and I understand
integration with other apps is not too far off either.
And talking of Strava, although
you can't currently do live segments,
it also sounds like that is only
a matter of time away as well.
And it's actually the future possibilities of these glasses
which is the most exciting thing.
So I've been hearing rumblings about the possibility
of doing live Instagram and Facebook videos, for example.
And also, because it's an Android operating system,
third parties could develop their own apps
to sit on the Everysight platform,
giving you some different options
as to exactly what you are seeing.
And of course they're not just restricted
to us as cyclists, either; you could use these
if you are a runner, or indeed for a whole host
of other everyday activities.
All in all, they come in at just 95 grammes,
which admittedly, is a fair bit more than standard shades,
but when you consider what's inside these,
that really is mightily impressive.
Also, like with all modern technology,
the likelihood is that in the future
these are only going to get lighter and also slimmer.
Now whatever your own personal view
of augmented reality glasses is,
I've got a hunch that these are going to be
quite commonplace in the next few years.
Or am I wrong; I quite often am.
And you can let us know all your thoughts on them
in the comments section just down below.
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Now we've got two videos which
you might well be interested in.
Just down here are five products
which we think the pro riders
should be using at the moment,
and just down here are our top 10 cycling apps.