Jean Turner | June 30, 2017
“We’re not just introducing a new product but we’re actually launching a new product category,” said Malte Laass, founder of Nuviz. The San Diego-based company was proud to unveil its first head-up display unit for motorcyclists at an introduction to the media at the San Diego Air & Space Museum, where we got our first look at the Nuviz HUD, and even got fitted with a device of our own.
Photography by Nuviz and Scott Cox
Head-up display technology (and it’s “head up” not “heads up” as the Nuviz crew pointed out) is brand new to motorcyclists. The idea has been teased for a few years, and almost made it to the market with the now-defunct Skully helmet, but the Nuviz device is now commercially available (www.RideNuviz.com), making the cutting-edge technology a reality.
Nuviz states they are not in the business of making helmets, and as motorcyclists themselves, understand that most riders have a preferred brand of helmet. The Nuviz HUD unit to attaches to the chin bar of your helmet, and offers a consolidation of phone, music, navigation and camera in one device, all through the technology of HUD optics. Yes, it has some weight and some bulk to it, something we feel the company will need to address in future iterations of their helmet-mounted device. And it already sounds like Nuviz is already looking to the future and acknowledging there will be an evolution of the product.
“This is the first one,” explained Nuviz Chief Design Officer Valtteri Eroma. “This is probably not going to be the only one.”
That’s not to say their current device should be overlooked. While the size and weight may take some getting used to, the onboard technology, optic display and functionality are quite impressive. And there’s a good reason for that. It turns out that the downsizing of Nokia two years ago played quite a big role in getting Nuviz to the market. Eroma himself has a 15-year design history with Nokia, and was scooped up by Nuviz along with about a dozen other top designers and engineers when the Microsoft-owned company dialed down their activities in 2015.
Nuviz got another major boost when they received financial backing from Pierer Industrie AG in early 2017. Malte Laass explained the relationship with Pierer Industrie, the holding company for KTM and Husqvarna Motorcycles, echoing Eroma’s hints at the forthcoming evolution of Nuviz devices.
“We were lucky enough to get them on board as a strategic investor into Nuviz and of course it’s great to have an investor in the company who’s familiar with the industry,” said Laass. “That’s important to us. Moving forward there are opportunities for the bike integration, tying into the electronics of the respective vehicles, and then future collaboration as well.”
Another thing to know about Nuviz and how exactly they fit into the space of head-up display technology is their parent company, Holoeye Systems, Inc. Google it.
They create some seriously badass stuff in specialty markets like military and aerospace. If you’re curious about the actual optic technology of the Nuviz HUD, you can also Google Holoeye Systems LCOS microdisplay. Because we’re definitely not smart enough to explain it to you. What we can tell you, however, is what it looks like from inside the helmet.
The display hovers in your field of vision, appearing at a distance of about 15 feet out, making for a natural viewpoint. Once the unit is mounted, it pivots a little both up-and-down and side-to-side for a minor adjusting. Nuviz was also careful to make sure the face shield can open and close freely with the HUD in place.
The user interface is a lot like smartphone technology, in that there’s not much explaining; you just start using it. It’s all rather intuitive, thanks again to their Nokia-derived design team. The unit pairs with your smartphone through the Nuviz app, and also pairs with a controller device, which is mounted to your handlebar. The controller is pretty simple, with four buttons that correspond to the functions on the display, and a toggle switch in the middle.
Walking through all the product features and components, or even just the setup process, is a bit lengthy to describe, but here are some basic highlights of Nuviz HUD functionality:
The map system is based on Here maps, the same platform used by BMW, Mercedes and Audi. Maps of your choice (by state or country) are downloaded to the device itself, not pulled from your phone. You can plan your route, include waypoints and/or preferred roads and run it all offline.
The angle of the HD camera can be adjusted once the unit is mounted, and you can preview what the camera is seeing in the display before you snap a photo or hit record. Take a photo with one touch of the controller, and the photo is instantly sent to your phone (video is manually transferred). The Nuviz HUD comes equipped with a 32GB micro SD card; the company recommends upgrading to a larger one if you plan to shoot a lot of video.
The Nuviz HUD comes with a headphone/mic setup, or you can plug your own into the AV jack in the mounting base. Music and phone functions can be selected in the display. The controller features a mute button.
We’ve sampled a little bit of the Nuviz HUD at the product launch and we’re now off and running with our own. We’ll let you know our thoughts once we’ve spent a little more time with a motorcycle head-up display and what it can bring to your ride. CN