There is a variety of protective gear in the market for motorcyclists to prevent any serious injury. Cars have built-in protective features for drivers, but alas, bikers, scooter riders, and skaters are the ones who are more at risk on the road since they wear little to no protective gear. The cherry on top? Auto drivers don’t always notice this lot on the road, even when they do, it doesn’t always register in their brains to take measures in order to prevent any catastrophe. In 2018, the WHO reported that the majority of the road accident victims consist of cyclists, motorcyclists, and pedestrians.
In order to ensure their safety, bikers and other riders attempt to make themselves glaringly prominent on the road by wearing neon yellow vests, install lights on their bicycles, or smack reflectors on their clothing.
Cycling contributes 1 percent to all trips in the US, due to which there aren’t many smart tech safety paraphernalia for bikers in the market. However, even this small percentage of commuters along with scooters, made more than 84 million trips in 2018, as per the National Association of City Transportation Officials Report.
So Apple and Lumos pleasantly surprised the cyclist set, when they revealed the Lumos Matrix Bike Helmet. This one of a kind helmet has a very prominent LED turning signal, a feature, which was previously only unique to auto transports.
Here is how the Lumos Matrix Helmet accompanied by its app can help the cyclist set.
What does it do?
The Lumos Company is envisioning road safety for cyclists, riders, and skaters in a novel way by designing the Lumos Matrix Helmet with a 7×11 dot-matrix LED screen on its back. This feature allows riders to signal other auto drivers when they are going to turn or come to a stop, upping their safety net immensely. Dozens of LEDs makes cyclists visible to traffic from a really long distance. And rest assured, these lights do not have a blinding impact on the eyes of the fellow riders.
Integration
The helmet seamlessly integrates with the IOS app, lights, turn signals, and hard brakes. With a simple rechargeable touchpad affixed to the bike’s handlebars, the bike’s helmet can activate turn signals on the helmet. Or the user can connect Apple Watch with Lumos app to signal remotely to gyroscope, in order to monitor speed changes, which then signal alerts for braking and turning with the help of hand gestures.
Battery
The helmet has a small battery pack built in it. The helmet comes with a USB adapter, which can be magnetically connected to the helmet in order to recharge it. The rear LED lights also display the current percentage of battery while it is charging. The Lumos app sends notification regarding battery levels when the helmet is switched on or off. And the helmet has quite a good battery life, which lasts around 6 hours on flashing mode and 3 hours on solid mode. If the automatic warning lights are switched on, the battery will last for 1 to 2 hours.
Lightness
Though it weighs 580g as compared to 440g of ordinary helmets, the Lumos Matrix is designed well in terms of breathability, comfort, aerodynamics, and safety; hence, it’s quite light to carry, which is a win for the cyclists since conventional helmets usually cause added stress or neck pain.
Compatibility
The Lumos app is compatible with Apple Watch Series 1 and onwards, whereas, iPhone compatibility is for 6S and onwards models.
App Usages
The Lumos app, in the Apple App Store, lets a rider control all of its functions. With the Lumos app, the helmet can be personalized and a user can set up their favorite blinking pattern, beep settings, and preferred warning light sensitivity.
The app allows a user to automatically track their rides and the records can be exported to Apple Health and Strava. With the help of the watch, users can conveniently remain up to date about their fitness, calories, heart rate, and the level of physical activity goals they have accomplished.
Lastly, the app notifies users regarding any updates in its firmware, so they can update the firmware for latest features. For a seamless and streamlined app experience, it is highly essential to have high-speed internet connectivity, so we would advise users to employ Windstream internet and enjoy their in-app experience to its fullest.
What We Have Concluded?
The Lumos Matrix helmet is of considerable use for anyone riding bicycles, electric scooters, shared bicycles, pedelec, or electric skateboards. It is incredibly comfortable and surprisingly durable, and bonus points for the cool appearance, while it simultaneously does a great job in ensuring the rider’s safety and prevent the accidents happening in the first place. Though its exorbitant price tag of around $179.95 might give anyone a pause since the ordinary helmet is a hundred times cheaper, its usefulness makes the price tag worth it.
So, go for it!
