08 January 2015
New Cycle Tech at the CES
The international CES is a global electronics and consumer technology tradeshow that takes place every January in Las Vegas.
This year a couple of cycle products have caught the attention of The Times.
They have highlighted a 'smart' pedal that helps to trace bicycle thieves. The pedal houses a GPS tracker and a SIM card that work together to alert the owner to an attempted theft - or to the whereabouts of a stolen bike.
The aluminium pedal is also able to track speed, distance and calorie count over the course of a bike ride, and send this data to the cyclist's smartphone.
The pedal requires no batteries because it generates its own power from kinetic energy absorbed during a ride.
The pedal has been developed by French company Connected Cycle - and the pedal prevents tampering by thieves as it can only be removed with a special key.
The company website can be found here: http://connectedcycle.com/
Also highlighted was a concept bicycle helmet developed by Volvo, designed to make city cycling safer. The helmet links with a rider's smartphone app that transmits their location to nearby vehicles fitted with the company' City Safety system.
This warns drivers when a cyclist is nearby, and warns cyclists when they are in a driver's blind spot.
It also analyses the routes of both vehicle and bike, and predict when an accident is about to happen. It can automatically apply the car's brakes and illuminate a warning light inside the cyclist's helmet to avert a collision.
Fortunately there does seem to be a lot of research going into cycle safety - specifically related to HGV's, as the Volvo product does seem to be attempting to tackle the same problem as the British Cycle Alert. cyclealert.com
It is good to see that the world of Tech is concentrating on the everyday issues faced by cyclists - as well as the design and development at the elite level.
This year a couple of cycle products have caught the attention of The Times.
They have highlighted a 'smart' pedal that helps to trace bicycle thieves. The pedal houses a GPS tracker and a SIM card that work together to alert the owner to an attempted theft - or to the whereabouts of a stolen bike.
The aluminium pedal is also able to track speed, distance and calorie count over the course of a bike ride, and send this data to the cyclist's smartphone.
The pedal requires no batteries because it generates its own power from kinetic energy absorbed during a ride.
The pedal has been developed by French company Connected Cycle - and the pedal prevents tampering by thieves as it can only be removed with a special key.
The company website can be found here: http://connectedcycle.com/
Also highlighted was a concept bicycle helmet developed by Volvo, designed to make city cycling safer. The helmet links with a rider's smartphone app that transmits their location to nearby vehicles fitted with the company' City Safety system.
This warns drivers when a cyclist is nearby, and warns cyclists when they are in a driver's blind spot.
It also analyses the routes of both vehicle and bike, and predict when an accident is about to happen. It can automatically apply the car's brakes and illuminate a warning light inside the cyclist's helmet to avert a collision.
Fortunately there does seem to be a lot of research going into cycle safety - specifically related to HGV's, as the Volvo product does seem to be attempting to tackle the same problem as the British Cycle Alert. cyclealert.com
It is good to see that the world of Tech is concentrating on the everyday issues faced by cyclists - as well as the design and development at the elite level.
