Well it doesn't seem so very long ago that we were all getting excited about goggles with in built video cameras and GPS displays. Oh that's right it wasn't that long ago, only last year if memory serves, but now new software has been announced that will do so much more and turn our once tedious view of the ski slopes in to something more akin to Arnie the cyborg's view from inside his shades in Terminator 2.
The actual goggles are already for sale through good ski shops like Snow and Rock, but this latest innovation is still a few months off but will then be able to be added to the Goggles - an 'upgrade' if you will.
The company behind it all, Recon Instruments (www.reconinstruments.com), described by their PR company as an, "award winning innovator of Micro Optics Display (MOD) technology for action sport athletes," has announced that it has created a "Software Development Kit" or "(SDK)" which it will launch in May 2012 for the "Android based MOD Live"
Are you keeping up?
This in turn will be compatible with the Polar WearLink+ transmitter with Bluetooth.
What this all means is that the "Android-powered MOD Live near eye device" ....provides skiers and riders with a variety of instant information in front of their eyes within their googles.
However first of all application developers need to get it all designed and in production and Recon are currently working with strategic partners to develop apps for the MOD Live using a limited release SDK for Android.
Developers who use Recon's Android SDK will be able to take advantage of MOD Live features including 2D graphics at up to 30 frames per second (which sounds fast); Bluetooth connectivity (which means different gozmos placed around the body can transmit data to your goggles for display); and GPS type data like location, speed and altitude registers plus skiing and snowboarding statistical registers like time, jump analytics, vertical and distance.
"The Polar app is the first app created using the SDK for MOD Live," said Darcy Hughes, Chief Marketing Officer Recon Instruments. "The app transforms our display into a biometric reader that delivers an athlete's heart rate in real time while they ski or snowboard."
The app allows the Polar WearLink+ transmitter with Bluetooth to communicate with the MOD Live via Bluetooth. The real time beats per minute (BPM) widget appears in the Recon Instruments' dashboard app, which also displays speed, temperature, and vertical on MOD Live's virtual 14 inch display.