November 28, 2006 When the Wide Open Baja Challenge team put the SportVue GPS-enabled prototype heads up display to the test at last week's 39th Annual Tecate SCORE Baja 1000, the 1000 mile granddaddy of all desert races, the system proved as rugged as the treacherous desert course. Created by former Indy car racer Dominic Dobson, the SportVue Heads Up display technology gives riders and drivers a constant view of critical data in an easy-to-use display in the drivers' peripheral vision, focused at infinity. The technology frees the driver from distracting glances at dash-mounted GPS displays and allows them to focus on driving.
“SportVue allowed me to constantly monitor my speed and direction, especially on the speed-limited paved sections,” said Frank E. Everett, one of the drivers of the #BC12 Baja Challenger car, “I was able to maintain the maximum allowed 60 miles-per-hour without having to take my eyes off the road, which was particularly helpful during our night driving stint.”
Dobson, who drove the car during the first part of the night, said, “The system did its job and held up very well in the extremely tough conditions. It was dusty, wet and bumpy, yet we had no failures. I think that speaks well for any other sports or industrial applications.”
SportVue is currently sold in several models for nearly any vehicle, including motorcycles, karts, road racing cars, dirt cars, autocross cars, boats and even snowmobiles. The display mounts onto any full-face racing helmet, and shows the rider or driver critical information at a glance. Motion Research also makes commercial systems under the SportVue PRO brand.
Motion Research, who pioneered personal Heads Up displays, was a co-sponsor of the Micron Technology Wide Open Baja Challenge car driven by Dobson and Everett along with co-drivers Chris Berty and Steve Curry. While an unfortunate trip into deep water spoiled the team’s chances this year, they are excited to come back again in 2007.
Two SportVue products for motorcycle riders, SportVue MC1 and MC2 with radar alerts, are already available on the market. These displays show speed, rpm, gear position, and even flash radar when a rider is under a speed gun. A racing lap timer product - Sportvue LT1 - is also offered, showing a racer their most recent lap times, lap count and a unique “Performance Monitor” to compare lap times on the fly.
