Schlagwort: Flying

Andrew Artishchev has the overtly persistent personality you’d expect of a young entrepreneur from Russia. The CEO of LiveMap and his usability expert, Dmitry Sizonov, are in the midst of a West Coast tour showing off the first prototype of the start-up’s augmented reality motorcycle helmet. It’s an awesome idea, but so far, it’s been rough going.

Quote taken from Wired:

“You can’t raise venture money in Russia,” Artishchev tells WIRED as Sizonov sets up an intricate array of electronics, wires, and mounts. “Russia is like the U.S. They only want to invest in software, not hardware.”

That’s a common cry from ambitious entrepreneurs around the world, and it’s one reason crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter have come to prominence. Too bad Kickstarter didn’t want anything to do with LiveMap.

“We were on Kickstarter for two weeks and were pulled off,” Artishchev says. “I contacted every person [at Kickstarter] and got no response.” The reason for the radio silence, Artishchev would later discover, is that safety products bring a host of liability concerns, and Kickstarter wouldn’t shoulder the risk. A few days later, LiveMap debuted on competing crowdfunding site Indiegogo, and the helmet started getting attention. Lots of it.

The helmet combines elements of Google Glass with the kind of head-up display you’d find on a fighter-jet. “It’s better than an F35 helmet at $100,000,” Artishchev claims. “But ours only costs $2,000.”

That’s a big statement from a small company, and based on the prototype assembled on the conference room table, they’ve got a long way to go.

Full Story + Official Source: http://www.wired.com/autopia/2013/09/livemap-demo/