Yesterday saw the unveiling of a hot new concept in green technology, the Copenhagen wheel. Not the London eye-alike in the town centre, but a simple, sleek bolt-on wheel that instantly transforms your bike into an electrically boosted commuting tool.
The new design from Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) Senseable City Lab extends the concept of hybrid cars to hybrid bikes, and works by charging a battery as you brake, then releasing the power when you need it. Where this design is unique however, is in its clean packaging that is free of external clutter such as wires, allowing it to fit easily and simply into the user’s life with no more visual impact than a giant Smartie.
As Assaf Biderman, Associate Director of the Senseable City Lab says:
“Bicycles are very efficient machines. Rather than reinventing them, we’re introducing a simple technological enhancement that allows any bike to become a smart and responsive hybrid”
The wheel has been developed for Copenhagen City Council, with the express aim of bringing the proportion of people who cycle to work or school up to 50 percent, and may just tip the balance in favour of the bike when it comes to choosing which keys to take in the morning.
“When long distance and steep hills are no longer barriers to comfortable cycling, many cities can become more bicycle-friendly.” Says Assaf Biderman.
As you might expect from the world-leading MIT, the wheel is packed with features that have the potential to alter the way we think about cycling. Aside from the mechanical advantages and range extension, the bright red hub interfaces with the ubiquitous Smartphone, and this is where the clever part begins.
By combining Bluetooth, GPS and Mobile Internet technologies, it syncs with your phone, which becomes the control screen by mounting on your handlebars and wirelessly controlling the unit. Then you have fingertip control of the three-speed gearbox, energy consumption characteristics, and security.
As the wheel is keyed to your phone, unauthorised use results in the bike alerting you by SMS, and resisting the thief’s pedalling by, yes, generating power
The mobile technology extends to tracking friends’ movements, and planning routes to suit your requirements, from an easy cruise to an intense session, while displaying your performance statistics. On board sensors track temperature and pollution levels, humidity and noise, and allow you to share information.
“The Copenhagen Wheel is part of a more general trend of inserting intelligence into our everyday objects to create a smart, supporting infrastructure around ourselves.” Says Assaf Biderman.
According to the Copenhagen Wheel website:
“When many cyclists donate the information their wheel is collecting, your city gains access to a new scale of fine-grained environmental information and can analyze different types of environmental data on a scale that has never been achieved before.”
Meanwhile, the mobile application can map pollution levels, traffic congestion, and road conditions in real-time. Ultimately this data can influence how a city structures and implements environmental and transportation policies.
In conjunction with the project, the Copenhagen City Council is considering introducing a ‘green mile’ reward point scheme as a further incentive to cycle. This could allow cities to measure, and even compete on the total green miles travelled.
One possible downside to the Copenhagen Wheel is the need for a Smartphone, and as it is potentially an ideal assistant to elderly people, this could be a sticking point. However an alternative unit is reportedly in development.
Source: http://cop15post.com/2009/12/16/news/a-revolutionary-invention-hits-the-streets/
