Lidar Helmet is an apparatus for alternative space perception. The person wearing the helmet can only perceive the spatial information generated by the LIDAR scanner on top of the object.


LIDAR is a 3D laser-based scanning technology which is mainly used in robotic systems such as autonomous navigation. A laser beam able to measure the distance to an object is being brought to rotation and creates a point cloud, which generates a 3D representation of the actual space. In the Lidar Helmet this in real time generated point cloud gets displayed on a VR-headset and becomes the only visual representation of the wearer’s environment. He or she will not only see the points generated at the time but also previously perceived points that remain visible. The helmet wearer can look through these ‘memorised points’, meaning that objects such as a wall or a ceiling can become see-through. While people who are standing still become clearly visible (i.e. point cloud getting denser), people who move leave traces and turn into “walk-through” ghosts. By wearing the Lidar Helmet one loses his or her sense of colour, yet gains a different perception of time, seeing the present and past at once. The overall experience is a not a visual but a merely spatial way of perceiving the world.


Throughout his work Julius von Bismarck developed a number of works dealing with visual and spatial perception. In works such as Topshot Helmet, Space Beyond Me, Egocentric System, or the Image Fulgurator, von Bismarck questions how our visual and spatial perception function and how these are influenced by technology. Lidar Helmet was first shown in the ENTANGLE exhibition at Bildmuseet in Umeå (Sweden). Visitors were invited to explore the museum while wearing the helmet.