Atlas Advisors Australia and top university investment fund Uniseed have jointly invested in Australian start-up Forcite which is taking the world of motorcycling by storm with the first and only truly smart helmet.
Forcite’s smart helmet is now being mass-produced, having been the only smart helmet to pass ECE 22.05 safety accreditation pre-testing.
The amazing new technology has the power to reduce the number of accidents and save lives.
It is also the missing digital link between motorcycle and rider that is driving change in the car industry.
Forcite CEO Alfred Boyadgis said Forcite will deliver to market the world’s first smart helmet for motorcyclists.
“Our smart helmets have a unique system that can give advanced alerts much like K.I.T.T. from Knight Rider as well as communications and camera systems integrated into one complete unit,” Boyadgis said.
“We are now developing on building human-machine interfaces with top motorcycle
manufacturers which we plan to exhibit at EICMA 2020.”
Forcite’s smart helmet is designed to deliver road alerts and visual and audio turn-by-turn navigation without a phone, enabling riders to see or predict things before they happen to avoid danger.
Atlas Advisors Australia and Uniseed participated in post-sales funding round of $1.2 million to finalise production lines for a roll out of product in Australia.
Forcite will be opening a Series A investment round later this year to scale up in European and United States markets as well as conduct further research and development into in-bike computer vision and LiDAR systems that link with the helmet.
Industry heavyweights such as Casey Potter, former head of brand for the United States helmet giant Bell will be joining to lead Forcite’s United States operations.
Executive Chairman of Atlas Advisors Australia Guy Hedley said it was a unique opportunity for investors in a $35 billion marketplace.
“Foreign investors via the Business Innovation and Investment Program are playing a critical role in supporting the Australian economy, pouring money into venture capital and seed stage companies,” Hedley said.
“This is helping Australian grown companies to drive innovation and create intellectual property for new market-leading products.”
Chief Executive Officer of Uniseed, Dr Peter Devine said investing in start-ups like Forcite was positioning Australia at the forefront of disruptive technological developments including in industries like motoring.
“We are building the next generation of local companies that will go onto to become regional and global market leaders generating more employment and value opportunities for our nation,” Devine said.
The helmet’s design includes:
• The patented peripheral display “RAYDAR” senses everything from upcoming turns,
road speeds and hazards
• Forcite is proven technology that can be assembled rapidly and weighs less than 1550 grams
• There is a handlebar controller enabling riders to accept or decline phone calls, repeat directions or control the camera
• The recording function is automatic and has a wide field of view with night
enhancement, tracking and backup
• Location radius of 25km is scanned every 3 seconds
• The Forcite mobile app enables riders to listen to music, make calls, backup logs and footage, setup navigation and track, and access helmet content