French motorcycle helmet manufacturer Shark has begun selling visors from the Italian company Irid Technology that darken automatically in bright sunlight. The change takes less than a second and requires no battery power.
The system uses a liquid crystal film, a solar panel, a base lens, and a mirror coating. Traditional photochromic visors react to ultraviolet light and can change their transparency in about a minute. With Irid, the darkening occurs instantly.
When light hits the solar panel mounted on the top of the visor, it powers the liquid crystal film to instantly change the opacity. The visors also feature an anti-fog inner layer and scratch protection.
Irid visors are available for the Shark Race-R Pro, Aeron GP, and Aeron helmets. The price is €390, with the helmets themselves starting at €800.