The last time I faced the double Black Diamond run at Tremblant, well, my life flashed before my eyes!

That’s not what the guys at Recon have in mind, however.

Recon Instruments is an award-winning Canadian technology company that’s developed a cool new HUD – Heads-up Display – for athletes, outdoor enthusiasts, and people who fall down the hill (that’s my category) to while skiing, surfing or boarding.

Recon’s goggles incorporate state of the art technologies like micro-computers, precision GPS sensors, high resolution screens and even smartphone functionality into stylishly designed goggles and sunglasses for sporting and outdoor activity.

Forget smartphones or smartwatches – these are smart glasses.

Wearing them, you can easily and conveniently track your speed, altitude, jump time, vertical drop (it’s so nice to know the North run at Tremblant drops at a stomach-turning 42 degrees!) just by looking.

Recon’s technology is built into eye wear from the world’s leading goggle and sunglass manufacturers; company principals report some 50,000 units have already been sold.

What’s more, Recon’s latest platform is coming to market with some amazing new digital and social media capabilities.

Imagine video streaming your death-defying run live from the slope, with real-time data displays and friends’ commentary right on your Facebook page.

Imagine crashing headlong into a four metre-deep snow bank on the side of your run, and knowing confidently that your skiing buddy can still find you, thanks to the HUD’s tracking and locating capabilities.

Recon’s display technology gives a wide field of view, eighty four degrees in fact, so vision is not impeded or obstructed by the data display.

In fact, using an ingenious prism system, it seems like you’re looking at a small screen some five feet away, so your eyes do not have to re-focus all the time, and you can keep watching your run – or your fall – at all times.

Recently, the BC-based company showed an early version of its new Recon Jet HUD at Google I/O, the annual developer conference, where attendees could drool over its dual core processor, dedicated graphics, Wi-Fi, ANT+ and Bluetooth connectivity, HD camera, and advanced sensor suite.

Recon showed the open nature of their platform with its developer’s SDK, and already, awesome apps like live activity tracking, video streaming, smartphone connectivity, Facebook integration and more are running natively on the platform.

In addition to the enthusiastic reception at Google I/O, Recon is celebrating its recent win of a Manning Award, a prestigious national technology award handed out annually in Canada.

The Ernest C. Manning Innovation Awards Gala was held in Calgary recently, and Recon’s co-founders Dan Eisenhardt and Hamid Abdollahi took home a $10,000 prize – not only for their significant development, but its successful commercialization and investment potential.

(CEO Eisenhardt worked as a management consultant before co-founding the company; he has BSc in Mechanical Engineering, and is a passionate swimmer, cyclist and snowboarder. Likewise, Abdollahi, the company CTO, is a dedicated snowboarder, cyclist and mechanical engineer, with a focus on micro-electro-mechanical systems.)

In fact, Intel Capital, the investment arm of the tech giant, has made a significant investment in support of Recon’s continued product development, marketing and global sales expansion.

Not only is Recon technology available worldwide in Apple retail stores, it is being incorporated into the top-selling Oakley line of ski goggles.

Oakley’s Airwave Goggle 1.5 will have Recon’s HUD built-in, and so you can easily and stylishly track the course of your entire ski season: see the speeds you’re skiing at; measure and track the distance, height, and airtime of your jumps (intended or otherwise), and see incoming calls and text messages while you do so.

Messages like, ‘Hang on, Lee, we’re coming to rescue you!’

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submitted by Lee Rickwood