Elevety Introduces Helmet Audio Technologies For Outdoor And Action Sports, Football
Elevety hopes to revolutionize the way outdoor sports athletes listen to music and communicate with each other. The Toronto-based company officially debuted its Domio mounted helmet speaker and Hearshot wireless waterproof communication system at the Snowsports Industries of America Snow Show last month.
The Domio wireless speaker, which can attach to any helmet, allows the user to hear music without the hassle or safety hazard caused by in-ear, or even over-ear helmet headphones.
Domio doesn’t just play music loudly from the helmet mount for everyone to hear. Instead, it projects the sounds into the user’s helmet using Elevety’s proprietary micro-vibration technology, which allows sound to reverberate into the helmet. Music, navigational directions or a phone call can be heard crisply and loudly without annoying others. But more importantly, Domio allows users to hear what is going on around them.
The speaker, which attaches to a strong adhesive mount, allows users to listen to whatever they want without having to access their phones. The speaker enables users to change the volume by simply spinning the exterior dial surrounding the small hockey puck-like speaker, as well as pause, skip or repeat a song by clicking Domio’s only button. A tiny attachable noise-canceling microphone is also available to allow users to make hands-free calls or texts.
Domio is water resistant, smaller than a hockey puck and weighs only 3 oz. It pairs with iOS and Android devices via Bluetooth 4.0 and can last up to seven hours on a full charge. The Domio app helps users calibrate the speaker to best match their helmets.
Elevety is the brainchild of co-founders Bart Lipski and Sebastian Koper. The two action sports lovers had a hard time communicating with each other while kitesurfing. This lack of communication prompted them to design the Heartshot two-way voice communication system.
Lipski and Koper began to design a wireless communication device because there weren’t many available that suited the action sports community. Hearshot claims to be “the world’s first waterproof communication system designed to allow your group to stay connected no matter the environment.”
Hearshot enables up to 12 people within 1,000 yards to talk hands-free without the use of a network or mobile phone through its Omni-Speak platform. The technology helps remove outside noise to create a more clear conversation.
The device comes in both a helmet mounted and an in-ear wraparound headphone version. Hearshot utilizes the company’s proprietary “Vibro-Audio” tech, which uses micro-vibration pulses to transmit sounds through solids instead of air. This helps create solid audio quality while allowing users to continue to hear everything else.
The Hearshot is currently being tested and is not expected to be ready for retail until the end of 2018.
“There has never been anything like Domio or Hearshot in skiing or snowboarding,” Lipski said in a statement. “Mobile phones are standard issue on the hill, on your bike and often out on the water. When it comes to outdoor and action sports, Domio and Hearshot elevate the experience by making it easier to listen to music and communicate in a safe and unobtrusive manner.”
Elevety pitched its Hearshot technology at the “1st and Future” startup competition on the eve of the Super Bowl in Houston. The company was a finalist at the NFL event and is clearly ready to venture outside the action sports world.
“Hearshot came from an action sports influence but communication can be used by all athletes and coaches,” read a post on Elevety’s LinkedIn page. “We are currently piloting our Hearshot communication devices with team sports in football and hockey.
“NFL, football, we’re coming… new solutions & partners to be announced late 2017.”
