For many people, cycling is a very interesting thing. However, it is also a dangerous sport.
Records indicate that 846 cyclists died in car accidents in the United States in 2019. According to the latest data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, another 49,000 people were injured while riding a bicycle.
In order to change this trend, a series of security measures have emerged in recent years. Not only have more bicycle lanes and applications that can help you find them, smart lights, helmets, and devices that can accurately send out the coordinates of the rider in the event of a car accident have also been in-depth development.
Now, in addition to the aforementioned safety measures, a team of engineers from the University of Minnesota has created a new type of smart bicycle, which they claim can be used to avoid collisions.
This is an electric bicycle equipped with special equipment. It can use a set of sensors to track nearby vehicles. The low-density lidar in the front can accurately scan the vehicles approaching the intersection, and the two lasers (one in the rear , The other is on the left) you can track those vehicles behind and beside you.
Rajesh Rajamani, a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Minnesota who is in charge of the research, said: “The sensor sends the data to the on-board microprocessor, and the processor uses complex algorithms to predict the trajectory of the vehicle. If the system determines that a car accident is about to happen If it happens, the bicycle will sound its horn to warn.”
Rajamani further explained: “The purpose of this is to allow drivers who are running off track rather than cyclists to change their course. People who install sensors on bicycles usually only try to warn the cyclists, but no one. Try to warn car drivers and remind them of the existence of bicycles.”
At the same time, there is a novelty in this research. Some common situations, such as turning right and turning left, can be as far as 30 meters away.” The
team of engineers successfully completed a field test, which tracked and studied the daily commuting of three drivers in Minneapolis. Scenes of using these smart bicycles. Rajamani said: “We may be the first research group to track vehicles in many different types of scenarios.”
said Hanuman Singh, a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Northeastern University: “There are several The more difficult aspect. The main reason is that these sensors are running on vehicles rather than bicycles. They are relatively more stable. Therefore, researchers have solved some key problems.”
In the past 10 years, Assistant Professor Fr. Luck Berente has been working on smart bikes.
She said: “It is refreshing to study and explore bicycles rather than sensors on vehicles. People usually think of bicycles as a traditional offline transportation tool, but it can also become a part of smart technology and IoT innovation. ”
However, Professor Singh warned: “Before the smart bicycle enters the real world, there are still many problems to be solved.”
First, does the driver have enough time to react? With cars and lidar, how many seconds can the driver have a reaction time under the assumption of a safe distance of 100 meters? Singh said: “With a smart bike, this time will be less than 2/10 seconds. Most drivers have a reaction time of about 2 seconds.”
Then, there are weather factors to worry about. Singh further explained: “Most sensors perform very poorly in bad weather. The beams they emit are reflected back, and you can only get the shadows of what you expect to see. Rain and snow will limit the detection of obstacles by lidar. The ability of objects.”
Rajamani admitted: Although all the parts of the new bicycle are waterproof, we have not tested it under bad weather conditions.
Cost is also a big issue. Singh said: “Most car manufacturers think that the price of lidar is too expensive, and I don’t know what will happen if I put it on a bicycle.”
However, Rajamani said that the sensors on his new smart bike The price is low and the weight is light. The cost of the entire system is about $500.
Now, he is looking for a license partner who can bring this technology to the market, so that bicycle users can purchase this more secure smart system.
He also hopes to apply his invention to vulnerable road users such as electric scooter drivers and pedestrians.
”Nevertheless, we must consider the economics and inclusiveness of bicycles, especially because they are a truly economical means of transportation.” Berente posed a question worth pondering: These technologies are for those who want and should Is it developed by a wide range of users who feel safe?
In fact, high technology is not always the best way to protect cyclists. Singh said: “If I want to protect cyclists, the first thing to do is to highlight the reflective strips embedded in the bicycle more clearly.”
Berente added: “We also need to be very conducive to cycling. China’s policies, infrastructure, culture and legal environment.”
However, she was encouraged by the new developments. She believes that anything that contributes to the transition to more active and lighter modes of transportation will contribute to sustainable development and make cities more livable. “Improving the safety of bicycle users is also one of them. Feeling safe is very important. Obviously no one wants to get injured or even die when walking around.”
