Wearing a Virtual Reality headset can be extremely dangerous, especially so if you are walking (or running) through Virtual Worlds. Running into walls or other objects can be prevented if this safety helmet is worn.

In operation, the ultrasonic detector (on the top of the helmet), emits a beeping sound with the frequency of the beeps giving an audio cue as to the distance to any object being faced.

While the device could also be used for other activities such as blind fold parachute jumping, and sonic navigation in deep caves, it was decided to test the concept first using "off the shelf" components and performing rudimentary tests with various day to day activities.

While the concept worked OK for viewing VR roller coaster games, It was determined to be impractical for playing catch with a baseball or playing the piano.

(About the photo...

I test all of my inventions on a human test subject..

The dangerous ones I let my wife try first...)

Step 1: The Parts

Not much here.... read the picture.

The hard hat was left over from an old Halloween costume... and of course the Google Cardboard viewer.

Not mentioned... a 70 MM X 90 MM circuit board...Purchased on EBAY sometime in the past for use in projects such as this.

Total project cost... I haven't added it up but I believe you would get change back from a $10 bill.

Step 2: The Schematic and Assembly

Really simple...Soldering the whole system took less than an hour....

(Small correction to the schematic... Vcc is shown as the third pin from the end... It is supposed to be the fourth pin)

Step 3: The Program

The program was gathered in bits and pieces (or should I say bytes and pieces?), from other published programs on the internet. Code was shamelessly "borrowed" from many sources, whom I hereby acknowledge for their contributions. The Arduino code was uploaded to the Arduino Pro-mini with a USB to serial converter, using a nuclear power supply (or something like that). The code is totally "non-frightening" and no attempt was made to make it difficult to read. There are parameters in the program (sketch), which can change the "beep rate", if desired,.