Whether you’re riding a motorcycle, a bicycle, skiing, at a construction site, or even playing airsoft, your hands are not always free. You are holding the handlebars, the ski pole, doing some welding, or in airsoft, your airsoft rifle. Whilst doing such activities, you also prefer hands-free kit such as being able to capture with your action camera, and if possible a hands-free communications kit.

On Kickstarter, we found a device that should answer your need for a hands-free communications kit. Designed by Analogue Plus, a South Korean group that was accelerated  by Samsung C-lab, “Ahead” is a device that pairs with your smartphone via Bluetooth, and once installed on your helmet, Analogue Plus claims that “Ahead” will turn it into a smart helmet.

Upon pairing and using the free “Ahead” mobile app, you can use it to make hands-free phone calls, track your activity, listen to music, get turn by turn by navigation instructions, talk to Siri (if you use an iPhone), and use it as a Push-To-Talk (PTT) device which for those in airsoft allows communications amongst members of an airsoft team.

Perhaps, those functions are something we take for granted with our smartphones and that “Ahead” is a convenient device to use with our helmets. So how does it work with every helmet? Two features in the device do the following: The first feature is that “Ahead” uses an oscillator to pass sounds to your helmet so you can clearly hear music and voice without the need for a headset or an earpiece. The second feature is that uses two-narrow angle microphones that capture the sound right in front of your mouth. An algorithm was developed to eliminate ambient and wind noise so that it can easily capture your voice when riding a motorcycle.

For those who are in the outdoors such as us airsofters, it is IP45 dust and water resistant so it can be used in the rain. We just don’t know how tough its case is to take a BB hit when it is mounted on a tactical helmet. We hope it is tough enough to take punishment.

Is it something you want to use with your helmet for an airsoft game? I actually like the concept as I do not need to fumble where I placed my smartphone amongst the myriads of pockets right in the middle of an airsoft game. If a call comes in and I need to take it, I just tap “Ahead” and take it without pulling the smartphone, and of course communicate with your team mates if they are equipped with “Ahead” too.

If you like it, then you can get one, or two or more by pledging funding at the “Ahead” Kickstarter page.  Analogue Plus is raising US$50,000 with over US$30,000 already pledged as of this writing around 30 days to go. Now, if they just have colours that can go with your tactical helmet, then that would be really cool.