Hammerhead Is the Safe GPS Navigator for Your Bike

When trying to navigate city streets on a bike, it's not exactly the safest move to pull out your phone to use the GPS. With new product Hammerhead Navigation though, riders no longer have to worry about losing focus to find directions on an unfamiliar route.

The appropriately named device looks like a hammerhead and features LED lights that guide directional change and indicate hazards on a course. The Hammerhead is mounted right in the cyclist's peripheral vision, making it safer to ride on terrain they've never biked on before. The purpose of the simple design is to not distract bikers with complicated screens and graphics. Instead, it uses simple intuitive signals that are not distracting.

The route comes from the user's smartphone, which syncs with Hammerhead using a system based on biking apps MapMyRide and Strava. In addition, their app will utilise crowdsourcing to gather information about the best routes (depending on user-set preferences) and potential road hazards. Hammerhead users will also be able to suggest routes to their fellow riders.

Once a user chooses a route from their phone, Hammerhead can function from a locked and stored smartphone. No GPS information is stored in the Hammerhead device; rather, it uses location information from the smartphone to navigate the predetermined route.

Hammerhead benefits from having a 14-hour single charge lifespan, so you can be sure it will stick with you on longer rides. Because users' smartphones connect to the device using Bluetooth, it will not drain phone batteries like other GPS devices.

Like most innovative products these days, the team behind Hammerhead Navigation used crowdfunding to develop their product. Hammerhead is expected to ship to its first backers by September 2014. Go ahead, bike the path less travelled.

Via Fast Company