BMW to unveil laser headlights and heads-up display helmet concepts

BMW will unveil laser headlights for the first time on a motorcycle and a heads-up display for motorcycle helmet at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas this week.

The heads-up- display will utilise technology which has been available in BMW cars since 2003 and will be fully customisable, able to display tyre pressure, oil level, fuel level, speed and selected gear, speed limit and road sign recognition, navigation, plus warnings of impending dangers.

BMW foresee a future where, through vehicle-to-vehicle communication, the display will be able to offer real time information on road conditions or dangers on your route. A forward facing camera – mounted inside the helmet – could record footage during your ride, while a rearward facing camera could be used to offer better rear visibility. BMW also say this could potentially work in group riding, so you could see where your mate is via their camera, although we think this could be a little disorientating while riding.

The display will be controlled by BMW’s multicontroller on the left hand bar BMW say the operating time of the display, with two batteries, is five hours.

BMW’s laser light concept, which will be shown on a K1600GTL, is already in use on the company’s 7 Series and i8 cars. Laser lights emit a bright white light and can avhieve a high-beam range of upto 600 metres – double that of conventional headlights.

Laser light technology is still too expensive for use in motorcycles, but the German firm expects the cost to drop as the technology becomes more wide spread in the car industry.