Interbike 2010 - 4iiii Heads Up Eyewear Display

Sep 28, 2010 at 10:48
by Mike Levy  
There was plenty to see at Interbike 2010 beyond the new bikes and gear that you'd expect to find and sometimes it pays to do a little exploring. We came across the 4iii booth (pronounced four eyes) and were quickly impressed with their neat heads up eyewear display unit. Inside you'll find a video explaining how the system works!

Read on...
Watch the movie to learn about the Sport-iiiis system

Views: 10,663    Faves: 5    Comments: 3



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You're looking at the Sport-iiiis (say sport-eyes) unit, a small device that attaches to the arm of your glasses and feeds you information on your current speed, power, heart rate, and cadence. While the guys at 4iiii realize that there are many computers to pick from out there already that provide that sort of information, their goal is to make it easier to read it without having to take your eyes away from whatever it is you may be doing. And that is where they take a different approach to the problem. Inside the white flexible boom that you see extending from the Sport-iiiis grey body is a memory wire with seven LED lights, each one green, orange, and red. Because you will have programed the unit with your desired zones, it will know which color to display depending on if you are above, below, or within the desired range. A red LED will clearly display that you are far outside the set limits, orange means that you're getting closer, and the green LED tells you that you are where you're supposed to be. If you want to know your exact heart rate, speed, or other measurements, just tap the side of the body with your finger and it will read the data out loud. While you may first assume that something like this would only be applicable to runners, roadies, and triathlon types, I can see it having uses beyond that. Pinkbike readers who race their motorbikes off road take note, this little unit can also be programed to keep track of lap times as well, with the LED lights letting you know if you are above or below the pace that you want to be at. Like mentioned in the video, this could also easily apply to mountain bikers who are keeping track of their times on a set training loop.


4iiii put together this video to show how the Sport-iiiis functions


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This is a rendering showing how the Sport-iiiis will look when attached to your glasses. The model on display used a spring loaded clip to hold it onto the arm, but the are working on a few different types of attachments, including a system that would integrate into the arm itself. Once you are finished you will be able to upload the ANT+ compatible data onto the training software to look at how you performed.

Visit the 4iiii website for more information.

I know that this isn't the usual type of product that we would show you, but after talking with the guys at the 4iiii booth and getting the lowdown on the unit, I have to admit that it is a pretty slick system. While it may not be applicable to the downhillers out there, I could see riders who like to keep track of their ride and know their progress showing interest in the Sport-iiiis unit. Keep an open mind, think long and hard, and then put your thoughts down below!

Author Info:
mikelevy avatar

Member since Oct 18, 2005
2,032 articles

61 Comments
  • 19 2
 Interesting bit of technology. Not something I'd personally be very interested in but I could see a lot of roadies or big XC guys with one of these.
  • 3 1
 i thought it was a type of nvg for night riding with your riding glasses. now i would get something like that.
  • 9 0
 Huh yeah i wish they made nv gear for us dh boys. or atleast speedometer or timer
  • 18 4
 for anyone who isn't racing and isn't sponsored, what a load of bollocks
otherwise its a gadget for those 'all the gear, no idea' people
  • 5 3
 So, i have a question...what makes it any better than this - reconinstruments.com?
  • 2 0
 Not goggles..............and fixes to your existing fav. glasses.
  • 3 0
 i want HUD with numbers and shit, i don't care if i look away, i can use peripherals to read the numbers too, @giant-rider-sam, i like those goggles but it would be cooler if it were more like the HUD in a corvette or HALO, sorry for using the halo reference everyone but i can only think of seeing it there and in fighter jets and vettes
  • 9 0
 or... the HUD that they use in dragon ball Z. over nine thousand!!!
  • 1 0
 lol. just realized the comment below is using that reference. lul
  • 1 0
 lolz i want a scouter too, ya i saw that, it would make skiing and boarding like a video game, SSX Tricky or something Big Grin
  • 2 0
 giant rider sam! thanks for that link...im gonna feel like fighter pilot now hahahahah...
  • 2 0
 this could be helpful for slopestylers to because if they need to ride at a certain speed to hit the jump correctly this cold tell them so the dont nose case or overshoot
  • 4 7
 Dude all you guys wanting some fancy hud and crying... do you realize how insanely expensive that would be to proto and produce? Pink bike officially has become a site FULL of spoiled twats. Ok... so, take your heads out of your asses, and realize... this may very well lead to the "HUD's" you speak of. Technology always starts somewhere, but it seems everyone here cries like little babies if that technology is not fully completed with no starting point.

I'm seriously losing my lack of interest into coming to this site because of all the trash that visits here.
  • 2 0
 take a look at your bike, would that have happened if it wasn't for spoiled twats wanting 8 inches of sprung travel
  • 1 0
 and incase you dont know,the product on that link rider sam gave us is already in production stages so shut up!
  • 2 2
 Wait... I'm a spoiled twat?

And 8 inches came from spoiled twats?

Wtf are you talking about ibike99? 8 inches of travel came as a result of some die hard riders... not spoiled twats. And yea... take a look at my bikes... if you noticed... it was all stuff from before "dh" turned into a fad. Riders like me who have worked their asses off at low paying jobs and saving up to buy parts. Then again were spoiled twats. lol. I've had a job since 16... mommy and daddy don't pay for shit.
  • 1 0
 that wasnt my comment.. infact what the heck is a spiold twat? it was probebly my bro
  • 1 0
 It's definitely not for downhillers/free riders (yet), but if you are training seriously for any sort of sport by running, or XC/road biking, or whatever, knowing your heart rate (among other statistics) and having easy access to it is paramount. I know just from running people often say to get to __% of your maximum heart rate, and doing it by feeling a pulse or constantly looking at a watch is definitely not as effective as this. Especially if you trail run.

So not for casual downhillers yet, but good for all sorts of training.

However, I probably won't get one simply because I'm not a sunglasses kind of guy, especially while running. haha
  • 12 0
 can it be used to detect and display other people's power levels too?
  • 22 2
 Only if they're OVER 9000!!!!!!!!!!

Plus, I can picture it now, instead of people looking down at a computer and getting hit by a car, the thing will glitch and the whole lense on both sides will turn black and you won't be able to see a thing lol
  • 5 0
 What does it say at over 9000? Does it blow up?
  • 5 2
 Dragon Ball Z inspired...WOW haha
  • 7 1
 i have an idea for the "tap wile going down the hill" problem, they must already have thought about this but make a bluetooth device to clamp to the handlebars so that the rider can tap on the handlebars and don't have to take a hand off it and still have access to the data.
  • 3 0
 I was thinking the same thing.
  • 6 1
 Seems excessively complicated.

He mentions looking downward and losing aerodynamic advantage, but moving your arm off the bars to "tap" the sides of the device won't affect your aerodynamic profile?

Seems like it'll take a LOT of practice to get used to using this thing, meaning the casual user won't be interested... and actual athletes may be too busy training, rather than learning to use it.

Soon enough, there'll be HUD's built into goggles and sunglasses... i respect the R&D work these guys have done though.
  • 3 0
 More seriously though, those lights are LED's, one of the brightest lights out there... Seems to me like that would be very distracting. Just the fact you will have a constant light directly in your eyes, and if you have polarized sun glasses, they will reflect inside the lens blowing the light out even more. To me- it seems like a not so great idea, but a step in some direction at least. Personally if I were to have something like this, Id want glasses with a see through screen, called OLED technology- Check out this link:
www.engadget.com/2010/01/07/samsungs-14-inch-transparent-oled-laptop-video
  • 2 0
 now you talking
  • 1 0
 That is totally sweet but it says they can only make it with 40% opacity right now. When they can make it 100% clear then you know we will be seeing this built directly into eyewear.
  • 1 0
 Yeah, of course it's just the beginning, and very expensive, but this is where I would have started if I were going to do something like that. Even if they could get it to be about 80-90% that would be sweet, almost like sunglasses. To me this is where the future is at.
  • 1 0
 Another thought, make the thing operated by voice command, then you have hands free technology that is customizable and useful on the fly. Dang, why don't I have thousands of dollars to pour into something like this lol...
  • 2 1
 I went and saw it at the show myself and it was nothing special. Just lights that you can set at peak, average, or goal heart rate cadence and speed. I would much rather have a display that tells me exactly what i'm doing. I don't see it being very effective and totally non usable on a mountain bike xc or any type maybe a little on road if you want to be confused by trying to remember which lights you set to go off at what times.
  • 2 1
 Neat. But IMO a solution to a problem nobody had. You cant look at your bars for 1 second? Im having trouble with that. Plus, I would think this thing would be more distracting than just looking down for a bit. Id have to try it though I suppose.
  • 1 2
 This can lead to other things. Your forgetting that. Technology and ideas all start somewhere. Maybe this will read in a heads up display (HUD) (Since no moron on the site knows what that acronym means).

In the end, I don't know why one person on this forum complained. It's like people who harped about the leatts when they came out saying it wasn't needed and blah blah blah.
  • 1 0
 Not a complaint man, just saying I dont picture myself using it, I dont think its a fair comparo to the leatts, which is safety gear.
  • 1 2
 Same principal tho. It was a new/ground breaking product, which has lead to many products. I can see this thing ending up in something dope. Think about if oakley grabs onto this tech with their mp3 glasses... then think about the possibilities it could lead to. Maybe built in HD cam on the glasses, maybe a HUD, maybe night vision. Who knows. It all starts somewhere. Sure this might be useless... but the products that could be derived from it could not be.
  • 3 0
 I see your point..........to an extent. I go mountain biking, and for that matter road biking, to get away from all that stuff. I dont need to wear tron goggles when Im biking. I do see its purpose, and its worth.......but I just dont see it catching on. A display down on the bars would be fine with me, and display more information at once.
  • 1 1
 I don't see it catching on in this form either... but... but... I do see another company taking the principal and making something completely different from it... ie HUD etc.

Ideas start from somewhere. The idea and proof something can be done is out there now, so some nut case might follow and start moving forward where this company left off. (think how open source software works).

Hopefully it will sell tho... as the more that sell the more the company will have money to do crazy stuff.
  • 2 0
 Very interesting bit of kit! I can see it being a big benefit for people into road racing. Specially during practice sessions, working out their performance, carry out analysis and see which sections they can improve on!
  • 1 0
 this is abit pointless as its gonna cost a bucket full an like the first ipod its gonna get outdated after a wile an you'll have to buy a new 1=pointless,

nice bit of tech though but i wont be buying, and im sure alot of people wont be either
  • 2 0
 I just one blue light - sprint and wind up to 150rpm, blue flash, change gear, wind up again to 150, blue flash, change gear...
  • 1 0
 it's a nice device but not for dh races no thanks, i'd rather be holding my handle bar, not tapping that eye device, no no no
  • 1 1
 no if you where going to use it for dh you would connect it to your computer and set the lights toa set speed so that you no your speed for set it to flash when you have been riding for so long that why you know how close you are to the time you would like to set on your run and then there is no need to take your hands of te bars
  • 2 0
 sorry mate but i dont understand what you just said.
  • 1 0
 neiver did i
  • 3 0
 Pretty neat peice of kit!
  • 1 0
 But you have to admit, the guy is actually a great salesman. So convinced about his idea and speaks his story like a mantra.

Was he a car dealer back in 2008?
  • 2 1
 Great idea, would deffinatly want to try it out. In my view ideal for Zone training on trail with my mountainbike!
  • 5 4
 i could totally see some one having a seizure from the flashing lights or some shit lol
  • 8 0
 i highly doubt they'll flash enough to cause seizures...
  • 2 0
 i was joking sorry i cant show that when it comes to typing
  • 2 2
 I'll wait for an actual AR device that projects the actual accurate data onto glasses or into my retina. This "power meter" concept is pretty useless.
  • 2 0
 For dh riding I would be looking for a auditory system with gps.
  • 1 0
 Will it alert me to stop driving when it figures out I have left it on the roof of the car again post ride?
  • 1 1
 So looking down at a screen wastes energy but tapping your head every 15 seconds doesn't?
  • 2 0
 The idea is that your not tapping every 15 seconds. the LEDs are letting you know where your at. The only time you tap is if you want to switch modes or get an audio.
  • 2 0
 I get the idea of how green light good red light bad works and I believe its pretty pointless unless you have a actual number to work with. I understand that this is another useless toy marketed for weekend warriors who prefer to stand around talking then actually riding.

Edit: Obviously it wasn't clear but the every 15 second was a comment heavily laced with sarcasm.
  • 2 0
 exelent idea
  • 1 0
 i dont need that thing to ride my bike and have fun...
  • 1 1
 congrats ! this is very cool technology.







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