Smart Bicycle of the Future Controlled with your Smartphone

##IMAGE_1_R##The concept of internet-connected devices that collect data and communicate – known as the ‘Internet of Things’ – is ripe for the next disruptive technology. The potential of this emerging market is vast, with an estimated 50 billion devices expected to be connected by 2020. The wireless bicycle is an attempt to bring this smart-tech future to life today.

“The exciting part about smart technology is the unlimited possibilities to enhance a device and its applications,” said Tim Ensor, business developer in the Wireless division at Cambridge Consultants. “This wireless bicycle is a great example of the many ways we can continue to upgrade technology. We could incorporate GPS and map data into the application to make gear changes in anticipation of upcoming hills, for example, or include a heart-rate monitor and other measurement tools to help improve training. But it’s not just about the bike – connected systems have the potential to give all kinds of traditional products a new lease of life.”

In designing the demonstration device, the experts at Cambridge Consultants took a standard bicycle – equipped with an electronic gear-changing system – and wirelessly linked the gears to both manual controls and a smartphone application mounted on the handlebars, along with information from sensors measuring rate of pedalling (cadence) and wheel speed. This combination of monitoring and control allows the system to make automatic gear changes under the control of a smart algorithm running on the smartphone. When a rider’s cadence rate slows, the application automatically sends a signal to shift into a lower gear. Bluetooth Smart – a low-energy version of Bluetooth – is used to wirelessly connect the system.