The Hard Hat of the Future

It’s actually hard to believe that there was a time when hard hats weren’t required, just like seat belts in cars, but they have saved countless lives and prevented even more injuries in their relatively short lifetime. Hard hats have been around for over a hundred years now, but besides their higher frequency of use, they haven’t changed much.  Well, it’s 2015 now and also the year that Back to the Future predicted that we’d be flying around on hover boards, so someone has decided to make something of the dusty, old, worn out hard hat.

The DAQRI Smart Helmet is a truly impressive concept that combines a souped-up hard hart with hands-free wearable technology, 360 degree navigation cameras and a 4D display.  Designed for industrial applications, the helmet is basically a computer you can wear on your head, complete with a set of drop down HD displays (much like Google Glass) beneath the protective visor that harnesses DAQRI’s patented Intellitrack. Intellitrack, the intelligent bones of the helmet, employs an interactive head-up display that can recognize images and situations based on the use of cameras and sensors that are installed in the helmet.

The video below will give you a great idea of what DAQRI hopes to accomplish with their helmet. It even shows integration with a smart watch and a virtual pop up display.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the DAQRI Smart helmet will run off an Android operating system and will store the data the helmet gathers with flash cartridges.  You can contact DAQRI now if you’re interested in buying, but prices are expected to be in the thousands of dollars.

DAQRI Smart Helmet (>$1000) | DAQRI