Recon Instruments has partnered with Empire Paintball to introduce the Empire EVS, the world’s first smart paintball mask. The Empire EVS combines a cutting-edge paintball mask design with an integrated Recon Snow2 heads-up display, enabling the delivery of critical, real-time information like ammunition counts, field maps, and teammate locations on a display positioned just below the wearer’s right eye. Armed with instant access to these valuable tactical cues, paintballers can enjoy a degree of situational awareness and squad effectiveness previously possible only in video-game experiences.
The Recon Snow2 heads-up display is positioned in the bottom-right of the Empire EVS mask frame. Unobtrusive yet effortlessly accessible, Snow2’s high-contrast LCD screen appears as a 14” image viewed from 5 ft away, allowing users to glance at it without re-focusing their eyes. Powering Snow2 are a 1GHz dual-core processor, an Android-based operating system, a nine-axis sensor suite, and Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi, and GPS connectivity.
The Empire EVS smart paintball mask also features a state-of-the-art, ASTM-approved mask design. Its dual-pane lens system, which is both scratch-resistant and anti-reflective, also blocks 100% of harmful UVA/UVB radiation and prevents internal fogging. The mask’s flexible, co-injection molded lower skirt encourages ball bounces, and its thermo-formed ear cover enables both maximum comfort and excellent hearing.
“The Empire EVS showcases the versatility of Recon heads-up display technology,” said Tom Fowler, Director of Sales and Marketing, Head Worn Devices, Intel. “Through our collaboration with Empire, which involved the development of paintball-specific software for Snow2’s Android-based operating system, we were able to bring the benefits of instant, direct-to-eye information delivery to an entirely new group of customers. Our open software development kit (SDK) allows any third-party developer to extend the capabilities of Recon devices in this manner.”
“Empire Paintball was thrilled to collaborate with Recon on the development of wearable technology specifically adapted to the sport of paintball,” said Louie Spicer, Chief Technology Officer, G.I. Sportz. “Recon has proven the robustness and user-friendliness of its Snow2 heads-up display platform. With Recon’s help, we were able to extend Snow2’s functionality to enhance the paintball player’s experience in a substantial way.”
