If you plan to go someplace new on a motorcycle, you have two options to navigate there. You either draw/use a map on top of your tank or slap a GPS (phone) to the dash. However, if you think both solutions are distracting or hard to follow, TurnPoint might be the answer to this.
TurnPoint is a LED device attached to your left-hand glove which takes a GPS navigation app on your phone and extends its usefulness by displaying turn-by-turn directions in a simple and intuitive way.
The device uses a Bluetooth LE connection and super-bright LEDs when it’s about to turn and which direction you have to go. The project initiators say the whole process is simple and intuitive, and has been designed so you get all the information by only glancing at it for a brief time.
Missed the info? No worries, as the glove incorporates fingertip controls allowing you to interact with the device to re-check the distance to the next turn and which direction to go. The TurnPoint device is powered by a rechargeable battery that should provide enough juice for 8 hours of riding. Its 18 super-bright LEDs will be clearly visible even in direct sunlight.
Looking at the video, the reading sequence is very simple. First, the device will create a bright rotating light to catch your peripheral sight and notify you about an incoming direction change.
Next, it will light different colored to show you the distance until the next turning point, after which all the light will merge to one LED on either left of right of the bezel, indicating the direction accordingly.
If you ask me, the idea seems pretty cool, but if I were its creator, I would also invest into applying the device on a better motorcycle glove. The current one appears to lack any protection and I would rather ride without knowing where I’m going than with my hands not being safe.
Google News