Cyclists aren’t always very visible to motorists, which is one of the reasons they need to be super vigilant when dealing with city traffic. As the saying goes, you need "eyes in the back of your head". To that end designer Billy May has come up with a concept design for cycling glasses that extend a rider’s peripheral vision by up to 25 percent on each side.

The Nike Hindsight glasses design uses Fresnel lenses, which were originally developed for lighthouses and provide a wide aperture and short focal length. Although the lenses reduce image quality, the idea is that since they are located only on the sides of the glasses, little clarity is lost in the process as the eye only detects motion in that area.

May designed the glasses for cyclists, but the design could be handy in a wide range of activities where detecting motion beyond the usual 180 degrees would prove advantageous. Anyone from marathon runners to track and field athletes, or even someone wanting to keep an eye on that prankster in the office could benefit from a few extra seconds of warning the glasses afford.

The design is only a concept and May, despite using the Nike name and logo, says the concept isn’t affiliated with Nike in any way, but we think the idea is definitely interesting enough for Nike, or other manufacturers, to take a look at. We'd also have to say the design is a tad cooler than previous efforts we've seen at glasses that allow you to see behind you.

Via Bike Radar.