By ALAN SNEL
LVSportsBiz.com
The colossal Consumer Electronics Show — with its 180,000 visitors and exhibitors from 160 countries — opened in Las Vegas Tuesday and there was a certain piece of high-tech bicycle equipment that caught my eye.
This story is personal. A bike helmet saved my life or saved me from a certain traumatic brain injury when a distracted motorist drove his car into me as a rode my bicycle near Fort Pierce, Fla. on the morning of March 7, 2017.
Several bicycle helmet manufacturers took to the floor at the Sands Expo Convention Center to show off smart bicycle helmets.
I spent Tuesday morning chatting with Sanchit Mittal, sales and business development director for Livall, a China-based smart bike helmet maker. The company started in 2014 and has 60 workers.
Smart tech bicycle helmets are not new. Lighting systems have been built into the back of the helmets.
But Livall moves the technology along with some features that could save your life if a motorist drives his car into you as you ride a bicycle and you get knocked out, unable to call 911 for help.
If you get hit by a motorist and there is no head movement for 80 seconds, the helmet sends an SOS alert to an emergency contact that you have included in an app that gets downloaded. The alert also sends out the location, which is also critical.
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In addition, if you are struck and you are conscious, you can push a button for six seconds to alert an emergency contact.
Besides providing LED smart lights on the back of the helmet, the head gear includes remote control blue tooth that allows for two-way conversation like a blue tooth in a car.
The Livall helmet retails for $139-$199 and comes in eight styles, even ones for kids. LVSportsBiz.com recommends this helmet.
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Former New Jersey Devils player Patrick Elias, now 42 years old after 1,240 NHL games and 408 goals, was among the various sports stars hired by startups and companies to bring attention to their products.
Elias, who won two Stanley Cups with the Devils in the 1990s, was hired three months ago as a consultant for a virtual reality hockey training program called, “Sense Arena,” which made its CES debut last year.
“This is more than just a game. It’s a tool for kids or even professional players,” Elias told LVSportsBiz.com.
A sensor on the hockey stick interacts with hardware and software to allow a player to work on skills such as shooting and passing. A coach can watch the player with the virtual reality gear and offer tips, too, Elias said.
The company is based in Prague, Czechoslovakia and in Boston, Mass. and also relies on current Boston Bruins scout Jan Ludwig, a former Devils and Buffalo Sabres player who also used to be a Devils scout. Sense Arena also has current Bruins player David Pastrnak endorsing the product.
For teams and training center, the retail cost is $5,480 for hardware, $1,490 for monthly license fee and $300 for a special hockey stick. For households, the cost is $5,480 for hardware, $3,480 for more hardware, $300 for hockey stick and $199 for license fee.
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LVSportsBiz.com is amazed at the world of virtual reality. Sports and games were meant to be played outside with real people. But technology and electronics have replaced the real stuff with “virtual” stuff. Let’s take a look.
And let’s not forget the ultimate virtual games competition — esports. The HyperX esports truck is an impressive rig.
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