Riding in the rain is not everybody’s cup of tea. But there are some who like being soaked to ride towards a cuppa far away. Called Wipey, this snap-on, electric helmet wiper, is just the thing for the latter. Visibility is an important factor when riding a motorcycle and unlike a car, where the viewing area is massive and there are things like a wiper and a windshield defogger to help when it pours, a motorcyclist only has a tiny acrylic visor to see where he’s going and things only get difficult when the heavens begin to leak.
Also Read: Summer Is Coming! Here’s a Snap-On Helmet Cooler To Keep Things Chilled
It’s not like nobody ever thought of a solution for this problem before. There are things like coatings for the visor or the finger wiper which requires the biker to take his hands off the handlebar. But Wipey provides the convenience of automation and because it can be easily snapped on and off, it can be fitted to any helmet or can be stored in its case when not required. The little thing runs on batteries and requires just a press of a button to swing it into action. It is 50% smaller in size than an action camera, is aerodynamic, and can be made to swipe vertically or horizontally, depending on your choice.
Also Read: BMW’s Space Age HUD Helmet and Laser light on the K1600 GTL shows us the future of motorcycling
How does it stick? One has to slide it to the tiny plastic linear guides which are permanently fixed to the helmet visor. There is also a special spring preloaded safety pin which ensures that Wipey stays securely on the visor, so it will not come off accidentally, event at high speed. Oh, and just like car wipers have intermittent and constantly on settings, little Wipey can do that too! A quick press makes it swipe just once and then it stops. A long press brings it into action, where every additional press of the button after that changes the wipe interval. Intervals can be 1, 3 or 6 seconds long. The innovating thing runs on a single, rechargeable battery and can work continuously from a minimum of 3 hours to a maximum of 12 hours. Wipey can be snapped on to almost all helmets of the modular, open-face, dual-sport and full-face type.
It has been tested to work up to speeds of 130 km/h and also has a companion in the form of a Bluetooth-enabled control button which can be mounted on the handlebar. Can you buy it right away? The makers have a final, production-ready prototype, waiting for production. But to start production, special injection moulding toolings are required, for which, a Kickstarter campaign which begins in May 2019, will help them to raise some start-up capital. If you decide to help the makers, you can get the Wipey at 50% off, of its retail price.