In July 2018, Japan Display carried out a driving experiment with a high-transmittance color transparent display on a helmet, cooperating with DANDELION RACING .This actual experiment, utilizing a transparent display, was the world’s first effort in a race driving environment. The prototype smart helmet XHD-01 Sparta has a display function using an automotive head-up display (HUD). An HUD is a device for displaying vehicle speed, navigational information, warnings, etc on the windshield of a vehicle. It projects images 1-1.5 meters away from the driver’s eyes.
The display used for the experiment achieved a high transmittance level of 80% by applying JDI’s new technology that permits the removal of the usual color filter and polarizer layers. The test run was conducted at Fuji speedway, attaching the transparent display to the helmet, and showed driving information such as temperature and fuel consumption, in cooperation with DANDELION RACING. The driver did not need to look at a monitor in the cockpit, but instead could concentrate on driving with the transparent display. The Sparta works in conjunction with a special smartphone application via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi and projects images of speedometers, GPS information, reception of e-mails and so forth.
The helmet XHD-01 Sparta is expected to be used by motorbike riders. It has a rechargeable battery, the LCD display of the HUD and circuit board in the helmet and a half mirror on the inner side of the visor. In the case of the new helmet, video of the LCD display to be located near the top of the user’s head is magnified and projected on the half mirror. Because the video can be seen in almost the same area that the user sees at the time of driving the vehicle, the driver does not have to greatly change the line of sight or focus, preventing the helmet from affecting driving. JDI aims to release the helmet basically as a B-to-C product and start volume production in fiscal 2019.
