Skully (helmet)

Skully
Launch year 2013[1]
Company Skully Helmets Inc.
Availability Pre-orders August, 2014[2]
Last production year 2016
Website http://www.skullyhelmets.com/

Skully was a brand of motorcycle helmet with a heads-up display and a rear-facing camera.[3][4] The helmet's software was based on the Android platform, and can be controlled with voice commands.[3] Users can see rearward through the heads-up display and the rear camera.[3][5] The helmet also includes Bluetooth functionality, allowing music streaming from smartphones.[6] Similar helmet designs have been proposed in the past including one by LiveMap[7]

The helmet was invented by Marcus Weller[8] who also served as the company CEO. As of July 12, 2016 Marcus Weller was removed as CEO and replaced by Martin Fitcher.[9] Fichter was an executive at mobile device company HTC's American subsidiary in Bellevue, Washington.[10]

As of August, 2014, the manufacturer was taking preorders for the helmet.[2] The company also had the fastest fully funded Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign to-date, raising $1.1 million.[11] However, there were significant production delays with the helmet[12] including company insider accounts estimating no more than 20 to 100 shipped units as of July 12, 2016.[9]

Skully shut down in July 2016[13] and was expected to declare bankruptcy shortly afterward.[14] Despite having raised $2.5 million through the Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign, and an additional $11 million in venture capital from Intel and others, the company was unable to secure additional funding.[14] Former executive assistant, Isabelle Faithhauer, is suing Skully and the founders, Marcus and Mitch Weller, for fraudulently using corporate funds for personal use.[15][16] Marcus Weller denied the claims of the lawsuit.[14]

References

  1. ↑ "Skully Turns Heads With Launch of Intelligent Motorcycle Helmet at DEMO Fall 2013". Yahoo!. October 16, 2013.
  2. 1 2 Chloe Albanesius (August 11, 2014), "Skully Augmented Reality Motorcycle Helmet on Sale", PC Magazine
  3. 1 2 3 Michael Gorman (October 16, 2013). "Skully P-1 helmet packs a heads-up display, rear-facing camera and Android to keep motorcyclists safe". Engadget.
  4. ↑ "Skully Helmet with AR and Rearview Camera". Wired. October 16, 2013.
  5. ↑ "Skully Motorbike Helmet Gives You Eyes in the Back of Your Head (VIDEO)". Huffington Post. January 15, 2014.
  6. ↑ Seth Rosenblatt (November 16, 2013). "High-tech Skully helmet: A Google Glass that's born to be wild". CNET News.
  7. ↑ "Official answer to the question about copy-cats Nuviz & Skully. | LiveMap: Motorbike helmet with navigation". livemap.info. Retrieved 2016-07-07.
  8. ↑ Cava, Marco della. "Change agents Marcus Weller Skully Helmets". USA Today. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  9. 1 2 Mannes, John; Buhr, Sarah. "AR helmet maker Skully investors boot founders, replacing them with Martin Fitcher as CEO". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2016-07-18.
  10. ↑ NW Tech Perspectives—Martin Fitcher on YouTube Washington Technology Industry Association (October 2, 2012)
  11. ↑ Chokkattu, Jullian (14 August 2014). "The Skully Smart Helmet Is The Fastest Funded Indiegogo Campaign To Hit $1M". Tech Crunch. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
  12. ↑ "TheRideAdvice.com".
  13. ↑ Buhr, Sarah (July 26, 2016), "Skully has crashed and burned", TechCrunch
  14. 1 2 3 Smith, Aaron (11 August 2016). "Bankruptcy imminent for failed Indiegogo startup Skully". CNN Money. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
  15. ↑ Carson, Biz (8 August 2016). "Lawsuit claims startup founders used company money to pay for strip club, groceries, and rent". Retrieved 11 August 2016.
  16. ↑ Collins, Andrew (10 August 2016). "Failed HUD Helmet Maker Skully Spent Funding On Strippers And Exotic Cars: Lawsuit". Jalopnik. Retrieved 11 August 2016.


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 8/11/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.