Step 1: Gather your MaterialsShow All Items Awarded Air Force contract to develop next generation protective eyewear for pilots e-Tint® goggle awarded Decathalon’s “Innovation Award” AlphaMicron advances to Phase 2 of Transitional Combat Eyewear Program (TCEP) AlphaMIcron partners with AGV Helmets to develop OEM e-Tint® visor insert e-Tint®-powered UVEX Variotronic Snowstrike goggle awarded “Gold Medal” at ISPO AlphaMicron awarded the Transition Combat Eyewear Program (TCEP) contract to deliver e-Tint®-equipped spectacles and goggles for the U.S. Army. AX-11 Motorcycle Visor Insert launched at EICMA in Milan, Italy AlphaMicron embarks on the development of e-Tint® commercial sunglasses AlphaMicron develops sunglasses for Navy SEALs Received “Manny Award” for Excellence in Manufacturing AlphaMicron expanded facilities and relocated to new headquarters Launched 1st generation Motorcycle Visor Insert (MX-8) at INDY Dealer Expo in Indianapolis

AlphaMicron receives $5M grant to fund study to improve energy efficient windows Popular Science awards e-Tint® UVEX F-1 goggle “Best of What’s New” AlphaMicron receives the Nortech “Innovation Award” Air Force grant is obtained for development of VTVs AlphaMicron (AMI®) is a pioneer in scientific discovery, research, and engineering. Their innovations and discoveries in the field of liquid crystals are applied towards product development and manufacturing for both government and commercial clients. AMI was founded in 1996 to specifically create a technology for the Department of Defense, giving the warfighter electronic control over the tint of their eyewear. While working with the Air Force on a head mounted display program, AlphaMicron developed a unique technology that can change the tint, or color, of a lens within the blink of an eye. This electronic tint-on-demand technology, e-Tint®, is the only technology that can address the challenges of varying light and weather conditions.

AMI has received funding from Air Force, Army, Navy, and SOCOM to be reduced to practice and now offers an array of e-Tint® products including, ballistic goggles and sunglasses, motorcycle visor inserts, automotive and avionic window and mirror applications, and medical and protective eyewear. This revolutionary material is made in U.S.A. and is engineered, designed, and manufactured from its headquarters in Kent, Ohio.One visor to rule them all, that’s the dream of many motorcyclists that enjoy tinted visors during the day, but want an easy “clear” option for night-time riding.Until recently, if you wanted to protect your eyes from the sun, most helmet systems required you to have two shields: one clear – for night-time riding, and one tinted – for daytime use.Not always a convenient or practical solution, we have seen riders resort to wearing sunglasses behind clear visors; or worse, wearing tinted visors at night.Thankfully, some solutions have emerged from the motorcycle helmet industry, namely transitional visors (as seen from Bell Helmets), which change tint based on the ambient light.

Another technology is electrochromatics, which tints the glass or plastic by applying an electrical current (actually, the electricity makes the cells clear in most use-cases). Helmet startup Skully features this technology on its now vaporware AR-1 helmet design.california dmv motorcycle bill of saleAdd respected helmet manufacturer AGV to the mix now, as the Italian company debuted its LCD-based AGVisor system in Switzerland last week, though with little fanfare.motorcycle dealers near rancho cucamongaFrom what we can glean, the AGVisor system will work on the AGV Pista, Corsa, and GT Veloce helmets (all of which use the same visor design), in a similar fashion to the Skully system.mini quad bikes for sale brisbane

This means that instantaneous tinting is accomlished with a single press of a button (on the side of the visor, near the locking mechanism). The AGVisor system is completely sealed so as to be weatherproof, and the visor lasts 12hours in dark mode, 50 hours in clear mode.t rex motorcycle for sale in dallas txWe have no idea what happens when the AGVisor runs out of batteries, but we do know that there is a mechanical fail-safe to put the visor in clear or tint mode, should the battery deplete while riding.motorcycle front fork knockingIn that case, the AGVisor recharges in 2hrs, has anti-fog features, and typical of AGV products, it has been extensively homologated (both the visor and the LCD).buy a yamaha xjr1300

No word yet on US pricin, but it won’t be cheap. European pricing is said to be set at €200. The AGVisor will be coming to the US market, though we’re not sure when.I must admit -- living in the 21st century is pretty grand. second hand motorcycle for sale mioGranted, when I was a kid, I thought we’d all have flying cars and vacation on Mars by now, but still, life is plenty sweet. My car may not be flying, but all my technology just keeps getting better, smaller, and more capable. And, the more I think about it, riding my bike is probably more fun than a flying car, anyways. Rider protection technology, in particular, has become much more advanced over the last few decades. It seems that almost every piece of motorcycling gear these days provides some sort of patented tech to make riding more comfortable or to improve impact or abrasion protection. Of course, things could always be better.

Helmets, for example, are now lighter and safer than ever, but most still have not solved the common challenge of sun protection for the rider’s eyes. While a few models now offer built-in retractable sun visors, most still require riders to either carry extra visors or put up with the inconvenience of fumbling to fit sunglasses inside the helmet. What if you have to ride through a tunnel? Fortunately, there is cool new technology on the market that offers a better option. Today we are reviewing a very cool visor insert that provides visor tinting at a push of a button – the Akari AX12 from AMI Powersports. AX12 uses patented e-Tint® liquid crystal technology to provide practically instantaneous visor tinting. Besides motorsports, this technology is also used in military and industrial applications. Tint from light to dark in less than 1/100th of a second Blocks 80% light with tinting enabled Universal size 2.85”x 4.57”x 0.02” fits most helmet visors on the market

Battery: Lithium Polymer with charge protection, USB rechargeable, 50 mAh, 3.7 V 40 hrs battery run time / 3 weeks standby Distortion-free polycarbonate plastic construction Automatic and manual tinting modes Defaults to “clear” if battery dies Our test set came with the AX12 visor insert, control button, USB charging cable, installation template and instructions. The components have a quality feel to them. The insert itself has a tiny area of visible electronic circuitry on the left hand side, which included a small socket where the control button attaches. The button is small but sturdy, with a rubberized weatherproof coating and a distinctive “click” that can be felt even when wearing the riding gloves. On the manufacturer’s website, this kit is sold for $130. This is not cheap, but also not prohibitively expensive, considering it’s an innovative, high-tech solution to a pervasive problem. We tested the AX12 with a Shoei Neotec modular full-face helmet.

The Neotec has a built-in retractable sun visor, which provided a great opportunity to test the e-Tint technology side by side with the more traditional approach. Fitting the AX12 requires the removal of the visor shield from the helmet shell, which is a simple proposition on most full-face helmets. Once the visor was off the helmet, we had to tackle the installed Pinlock® inner insert. (The Pinlock® insert clips into two posts on the inside of the visor and prevents fogging by creating a double-pane system.) With the Pinlock® insert removed, we were ready to apply the AX12. The supplied template made centering the insert on the visor very straightforward. The AX12 features an adhesive border, which holds it firmly in place once it is pressed onto the inside of the visor. Here we did run into a slight snag with the Pinlock® posts. While the actual liquid crystal panel of the AX12 fit nicely between the posts, the adhesive border extended over them, and could not lie flat on the visor.

Not wanting to inadvertently damage any of the hidden circuitry, we contacted AMI Powersports for a solution and were advised to simply trim portions of the border that overlapped the pins, so that the insert could lie flat. With the insert in place, it was time to attach the controller button. The button has a thin, flat and flexible cable that connects to the socket on the visor. The cable then wraps to the outside of the visor, where the button attaches with adhesive backing. With the AX12 installed, we snapped the visor back into the helmet and went for the test ride. The tinting performance of Akari AX12 is simply phenomenal. In manual mode, pressing the button instantly darkens the face shield. There is no delay, no gradual darkening – it is truly instantaneous. Tinting is uniform across the insert, and does not reduce the optical clarity of the visor – there is no distortion, blurring, or optical artifacts in the liquid crystal panel. Press the button again, and the visor instantly goes back to clear.

AX12 installed to visor, with tinting turned off AX12 installed to visor, with tinting turned on The automatic feature also works well, and does what is intended – automatically adjusting tinting based on the lighting conditions. Since our helmet offered a built-in retractable sun visor, it was easy to test it against the AX12. After several back-and-forth tests, we could not tell the difference – the level of tinting and the optical quality of the AX12 were on par with the built-in unit. There is another benefit to the AX12 – anti-fog protection during cold rides. This is in one part thanks to the permanent anti-fog coating, and in another part due to the double-pane system it creates when installed in the visor. The only gripe we had with the AX12 had to do with its fitment on the newer helmets like the Neotec, which offer larger visors with wider field of view. The AX12 panel did not extend the entire width of the visor, and the wide adhesive border was not transparent, and resulted in considerable loss of peripheral visibility.

Perhaps one solution AMI could explore is creating a Pinlock®-compatible version of the AX12 that would forego the adhesive border altogether. This issue bothered us because we were used to the wide field of vision of the Neotec. It would not be as pronounced in helmets with smaller visors. View from the inside It’s also worth mentioning that, as with all double-lens systems including Pinlock®, in certain light conditions riders may experience a reflection, glare or slight double-image in the visor. In our experience this effect is very slight and infrequent, but everyone’s eyes and light sensitivity are different, so please be aware of this effect, and judge for yourself. Again, this is not a shortcoming of the Akari AX12, but rather a common side effect of double-pane visor systems. Akari AX12 is an innovative and technologically advanced product that not only protects the rider’s eyes, but also protects the rider, by allowing them to see clearly in varying light conditions.