3D Helmet with refraction effects.

I like your ideas and the intent behind them. It definitely sparks discussion and progress!
For this one I do have experience using a visor in the rain. In my opinion the droplets are way too large. When the rain hits the surface of the visor the individual droplets break in even more droplets which are smaller in size. If you were to blow dry your car (like in a carwash) that is pretty much what it looks like in a visor.

~Bailey

 

You point was still understandable :]
~Bailey

 

Obviously it's not very accurate but you get the idea. This would be more appropriate but I didn't know how to do it.
Heavy rain and the windscreen looks like this

 

Get the blow dryer!
~Bailey

 

I know but it's not like you're going 200 mph the whole time, exiting a corner would look like that.

 

I ride a motorcycle (Triumph America to be exact ) and with a few hours in the rain I have some visual experience. Luckily it has never looked like that.
~Bailey

 

Did you drive in pouring rain ?

Here's a nice example - I know, I know, carts, much lower speeds but that probably is a GoPro meaning little lens, I can only imagine what it would look like on a way bigger surface like the visor

 

Yep. The worst thing about riding in the rain is the spray from other vehicles.
~Bailey

 

As for the go pro video that is nice footage. You have to remember that the lens is about larger than the size of a quarter. One drop of rain covers much more total surface area when compared to the visor of a helmet.
~Bailey

 

This all is a good idea only if the rain droplets are not something that totally blinds the visibility. The image you showed has a car standing and lense focused on the windscreen, this making it all look a lot worse than it really is.. I've never experienced a windscreen that I can not see through of enough if it's only water.. and I've had work cars with wipers not working with pouring rain

 

I am seriously contemplating wearing my helmet in the sower to get some "live data"....
~Bailey

 

But your retina is even smaller . It's all about distances, the lens is closer the the shield then your eyes are to the visor but that wasn't my point, look how many got onto that little surface so how much more would get on the visor ?

I'm thinking of borrowing a helmet and doing some pictures with a cam in it, for the rain part I'm going to hold it out the window

 

You should! Funny thing is that rain resistant spray for my visors arrived in the mail today. Looks like its gonna rain this week too!
~Bailey

 

its not only that the gopro is smaller but the camera lense (or cover in this case) is flat and wont allow rain drops to run off that easy.. a helmet is not flat but curved, more so than a windscreen and not only that but it will have a rainX (water repellent) type treatment on it which means the rain just flows off (imagine a very highly waxed car, the water beads up and rolls straight off, couple that with wind and the rain would fly off.

perfect example

 

Perfect it maybe but not for helmet view, place the cam 2 inches from the windscreen and you would get a totally different picture.
But I agree with you guys, it wouldn't be that much visible like on my picture but the rain doesn't disappear or vaporize on contact with the glass, stays or washes of but still creates many diffraction.

All together you would see something, or are you guys telling me that I wouldn't be able to say whether it's raining or not

 

well a windscreen is somewhat different due to its size and shape, its basically a slightly curved sheet of flat glass at a 45-60deg angle where a helmet is literally like a banana so you would expect the rain to take longer to dissapear on the windscreen vs the helmet.

if i get chance i will cover my helmet in rainx and spray some water at it and will try record from inside the helmet.. thats the only way to be sure

 

You have officially taken that task from me. Good luck!
~Bailey

 

Only on windshield.. but on helmet it's different (especially with water repellent visors). It will keep the droplet intact and it will just move very quickly out of the visor, it won't let the water extend. The droplet won't leave any trace when it moves, or if it does it will be other very small droplets which will also move very fast out of the visor.. Like ChrisR already said, waxed car is perfect example.. you can see the water get very bubble like on waxed surface.

 

here is my car after i finished waxing it.. and yes.. it really did piss down immediately after id finished.



you can see the beading quite clearly dropping off the body quite quick, now imagine a greater angle and wind blowing at you from 50mph + and you can imagine its pretty clear..

 

That really doesn't prove anything, take a few steps back and we won't see any rain
It's all good but the wipers are there for a reason and the repellent was also invented because the rain does influence your view.
More or less but you don't expect to have a view like on a sunny day when it's raining right ?