Smart sunglasses give athletes a heads-up display

Performance data shown in peripheral vision

22 October 2007 13:50 GMT / By Amy-Mae Elliott

New sunglasses, dubbed "Informance", developed in Germany, can show athletes their performance stats and heart rate data in their peripheral vision.

The sunglasses display a stopwatch and heart rate at one edge, and, as the extra components required add just seven grams to the weight of the glasses, it's a feasible solution.

A small LED display, powered by a polymer battery inside the glasses' arm, projects an image into a built-in prism on the glasses' left lens from the side.

The product prototype transmits information via a wireless link to a digital watch and heart-rate monitor for display.

The display takes up 12% of the left eye's field of view, which apparently means it's not intrusive when you look ahead.

The hope is that the Informance glasses can be turned into a commercial product by 2009, to be priced at between 700 and 1000 euros.

Even more exciting than this development are the potential uses for such a display, with directions transmitted by a GPS unit one possibility the company are looking into.