New startup determined to make things right for original Skully backers
Remember Skully, the startup behind the $1,500 augmented reality motorcycle helmet? The project raised $2.4 million on Indiegogo making it one of the most successful wearable tech crowdfunding campaigns ever. Unfortunately, it filed for bankruptcy last year, leaving backers without a device or any chance of a refund.
But it seems that might not be all over for the smart helmet after a letter was sent out to Skully email subscribers from Ivan Contreras, the new president of Skully Technologies who has snapped up the company and has revealed that it’s planning to revive the idea.
While Contreras states that the Skully Technologies is unrelated to the Skully, Inc that filed for bankruptcy, he recognises that hundreds of “Skully helmet enthusiasts” had contributed to the original product and would have been disappointed that they never received one. He also says he is determined to make this right. Whether making this right means those backers will finally get the helmet they put their money behind, it’s still all very vague.
Contreras says it will be sharing more updates soon, but there’s no indication as yet whether it will simply be reviving the same helmet design or it’ll be coming up with something new. The original Skully was designed to give you eyes in the back of your head providing access to a rear view camera feed, with 180 degree coverage so all blind spots would be eliminated. It also promised a heads-up display to provide detailed road layouts and GPS mapping as well as hands free music streaming.
Whether Skully fans will want to risk getting burnt a second time remains to be seen. Plus, there are other startups that have already been trying to fill the Skully void, including the $699 Nuviz HUD, which raised over $200,000 back in 2013 and starts shipping this year. Fingers crossed we won’t be writing about Skully crashing out for a second time.
Source: TechCrunch
