Ronco Scrivia (Genoa, Italy), September 17th, 2024 – Racing Force Group and Oakley have signed a Marketing & Development Agreement to launch the revolutionary Skier’s Eye technology to provide the unique Point Of View of the alpine ski disciplines. Thanks to the Skier’s Eye, TV spectators will be able to enjoy an unprecedented experience, with high resolution images that will show the exact point of view of the skiers during the race.
Racing Force Group, a global leader in the production of safety devices for motorsports, through its electronics division Zeronoise, in 2020 introduced Driver’s Eye™ (aka helmet camera), a patented technology that is the smallest micro-camera in the world for live TV broadcasting. It is installed inside the drivers’ helmets. Successfully used in the top world motorsport competitions, the Driver’s Eye™ has been evolving to reach a record weight of 1.43 grams and a diameter of 9 millimetres.
The Skier’s Eye is built upon this foundation, but Racing Force Group engineers have carried out further miniaturization to adapt to the specific context of winter sports. The microcamera and related accessories have been integrated into the athlete’s equipment for the first time, without impacting safety or performance.
Oakley, part of EssilorLuxottica, is a reference eyewear brand for over 70 sports disciplines, including alpine skiing, with cutting-edge products in terms of design, materials and technical solutions. The joint development with Racing Force Group has allowed a profound integration between the components of the Skier’s Eye system and Oakley snow goggles.
Alex Haristos, Chief Operating Officer of Racing Force Group, commented: “After the success of the Driver’s Eye in motorsport, the next step is to be able to deliver a similar experience in other sport disciplines, and ski is a perfect example of that. The development of the technology is even more ambitious, as we must miniaturise the system to make it one with the athlete. The close collaboration with a leader in sport eyewear such as Oakley is of the utmost importance when you want to achieve something revolutionary, and we will strive together to bring this to the TV audience as soon as we can”.
Ryan Saylor, Sports Performance Head of Product of Oakley, said: “Oakley’s story began in 1975, igniting a history fuelled by innovation. When creating our products we look towards progression, and innovation to support our athletes in performance mode. Partnering with Racing Force to deliver a never-seen-before perspective to alpine-skiing show fans what world-class athletes see, will bring a whole new level of inspiration for the next generation of skiers to push the sport forward”.