Liquid crystal technology visors hit the motorcycle market
IRID Technology, an Italian based company with a rich passion for motorcycles have teamed up with one of the biggest household names in the world of motorcycle gear.
IRID visors work using Liquid Crystal Technology (LCT) of which the principle has been about for years in different forms. From ski goggles, to welding masks and beyond. No one has successfully brought this principle to the motorcycle world until now. I recently caught up with one of the founders Laura Righi, to really delve into why this is such a breakthrough when it comes to motorcycle visors.
What is it?
IRID Visors use Liquid Crystal Technology (LCT) whereby the crystals activate and de-activate in under 0.5 seconds from totally dark to totally clear. It’s laminated onto the interior of the visor and powered by visible light on the small solar panel on the upper part of the visor. Being an internal lamination it means they’re well protected even when those unexpected bumps in the road flick the odd stone or shingle up at your visor.
“IRID visors absorb visible light the exact same as your eyes perceive -photochromic visors take UV rays, these aren’t the same. Your eyes take in more visible light – especially in the UK where conditions and clouds are quite dark and change quickly. The photochromic visors on the market even in the dark can see a high level of UV’s so it remains activated – making for dark and potentially dangerous riding visibility. Whereas IRID visors absorb only visible light – the perfect match for what your eyes see as we work with what your eyes actually perceive rather than UV.”
They aren’t Pinlock compatible, however Laura says the best part is you don’t actually need a Pinlock. The interior is also a hydrophilic surface that works to 120s, working incredibly well to fight the fog even in the ever changing conditions we have in the UK and Europe.
What’s different about IRID Visors to the current market competition?
One of the big factors is that unlike the previous competitors on the market, IRID Visors have a really small solar panel on the upper part of the visor. This is powered by visible light, not UV rays. Meaning, you won’t be riding around with a dark visor when there is heavy cloud cover and actually your visibility is then compromised. We will attach a video of the visor in action, where Laura enters a tunnel on her motorcycle and you’re able to see in action the visor activating and de-activating in under a second. Crazy, right?
The most asked question when we released this was if you’re riding at night with the clear visor and a car with their lights on pass you, will the visor tint? The answer is no – artificial light does not power the solar panel within the visor.
Laura said their end goal is for each manufacturer to have a specific IRID compatible visor. She said they could have gone for a Pinlock style solution using LTC however it wouldn’t have been as seamless or cost effective.
A dynamic visor like this automatically becomes daytime use only, hence the immediate availability for the Aeron range of Shark Helmets. Laura said they’re working on rolling this out for each helmet including touring helmets and regular commuting.
Millie’s boring, nerdy bit:
Under the current EU motorcycle helmet standard, UNECE Regulation 22.06, visor homologation is based on visible light transmission (VLT). A visor must transmit at least 80% of visible light to be approved for unrestricted day-and-night road use. Visors with lower light transmission may still be homologated, but with restrictions: visors transmitting between 35% and less than 80% VLT are approved for daytime use only and must be clearly marked as such. For variable-tint technologies, such as photochromic or liquid-crystal visors, the regulation allows a minimum VLT as low as 20% in their darkest state; however, these visors are also automatically classified as “daytime use only” and cannot be legally used at night on public roads.
“We thought, the principle exists, there’s got to be a way we can make this work” – Laura Righi, CMO of IRID Technology.
Internal sun visors are very popular and are readily available in most helmets brands for a decent price. Where IRID visors change the game is, despite internal sun visors being great on price point and absolutely will do the job – you’re still adding an action into what could, one day be just an autonomous process. Taking an additional action, thus hands off the handle bars when the only thing keeping yourself on your motorcycle is you.
Currently the IRID visors are available on the flagship Aeron/Aeron GP range from Shark (as daytime use only). Laura has said each manufacturers road line helmets will eventually follow suit – every motorcycle helmet brand has started with the top of the range race helmets as these are the ones that don’t already include an internal sun visor.
The visors are currently available in Dark Smoke, Clear and Blue Iridium. They will start at £339.99 with the clear visor.
Laura and her brothers actually funded a ski goggle brand initially, using this light crystal technology. Knowing they could push this a step further, Laura being an avid motorcycle rider since the age of 15 years old knew there was a gap in the market. If liquid crystal technology is able to work in one second, surely the current photochromic options on the market that take a good few minutes to de-activate are quite outdated.
The price point is of course going to be the main factor in bikers minds that may not make this an accessible for all product right now, however Laura hopes that with the mass roll-out of the product being adapted to various manufacturers (some really big names coming Spring 2026) that they will be able to get the price down, to make it an affordable no-brainer.