GPS goggles could be a start-up destination

Travellers across the world have come to rely on GPS to navigate unfamiliar terrain. Today’s smartphones often include GPS, but this isn’t an option for skiers when they’re hurtling down a mountain at 75km an hour. However, Recon Instruments in Canada has come up with a solution: GPS-enabled goggles with a head-mounted display […]

StartupSmart 18 January, 2011

Start-up Idea: Recon Transcend goggles Travellers across the world have come to rely on GPS to navigate unfamiliar terrain.

Today’s smartphones often include GPS, but this isn’t an option for skiers when they’re hurtling down a mountain at 75km an hour.

However, Recon Instruments in Canada has come up with a solution: GPS-enabled goggles with a head-mounted display system.

Created in partnership with Zeal Optics in Colorado, Recon’s Transcend goggles provide real-time feedback for skiers and other snow sports enthusiasts including speed, latitude and longitude, altitude, distance travelled, temperature and time.

Also included in the goggles are GPS are capabilities, USB charging and data transfer, and free post-processing software than can overlay the user’s runs onto satellite imagery.

Several days’ worth of data can be stored on the goggles, with the battery offering a run time of up to eight hours.

There appears to be no end in sight to the new applications of GPS technology. Concepts such as this could be developed by an Australian start-up for any number of adventure sports including surfing, rowing and hiking.