BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
"Have you ever ridden a trail and wished you could watch it back again, not from just one perspective, but from different angles – showing your speed, your angle of descent, the way you moved and how you took a jump?"
That’s the start of Dr Simon Fowler’s elevator pitch for ReTrack, a 3D animated action replay delivered to a smartphone via a helmet-sensor. He has received grants to commercialise ReTrack and is now seeking community funding via Kickstarter. He has until October 22nd to raise £150,000 on the community funding website. The first iteration of the ReTrack system will only work on Android smartphones.
"ReTrack makes the data captured from your ride come to life, enabling you to relive every ride you do," promises Fowler.
ReTrack is both a product and a service, the product part is the ReTrack Sensor, which fixes to a helmet. The sensor links via Bluetooth to an Android smartphone running the ReTrack app.
An hour after sending ride data to the ReTrack server the user is sent animated highlights of the ride for viewing and sharing. The animation includes helmetcam-style shots as well as views of the ride as if a helicopter was filming.
On Kickstarter, the ReTrack sensor is being made available for £99, a third off what will be the normal price.
Dr Fowler has a degree in computer systems engineering and a PhD in real-time systems, and has worked on tracking projects for jet engines and self-guided buses. He has also coded control software for satellites.
_
