The first real-time collision avoidance device for any bike
Those who bike know to fear the almighty pothole. A deep rut in the
road, or a big piece of metal lying on it, can mean the end of a biking
trip. And those fancy bike computers are no help — while they track
everything about you and your bike, and may even give directions, they
can’t warn you about that massive impediment three car lengths up. Now,
however, there’s something that scans the road in front of you to spot
possible hazards and can prevent accidents.
This one was so bad it made the news.
Most accidents don’t end with the front bike wheel looking like
Clifford the big red dog’s chew toy and the fork completely sheared
through. Still, this writer has personally suffered an encounter with a
massive crater missed by then-Mayor Bloomberg that resulted in a popped
tube, destroyed tire wall, and dented Open Pro rim. Needless to say that
ride was done, and I had to replace the tube, tire, and later the rim.
So I’m quite interested in taking a look at the gadget that offers to
warn riders about the road ahead.
Byxee, a handlebar-mounted scanner
searches an image of the oncoming landscape, and can pick out the road
and irregularities on it based on shadow measurements. The Byxee Linear
Road Scanner (BLRS) works in conjunction with the Byxee Hazard Detect
System (BHDS) to pick up trouble spots at up to 80 feet, and beeps a
warning. The sensors also pick up moving objects, like balls or the
kids that inevitably chase them. You can set the field of view and
sensitivity or use one of the 28 smart settings. The battery life is
about 30 hours, and the battery power is displayed on startup. When it’s
drained, you can charge it with a plain old USB.
It’s a revolutionary road scanning device for biking. As it says on their Indiegogo page,
“Byxee is another set of eyes that never get tired or blinded by
sun-glare or headlights or, let’s face it, distracted. Distractions are a
major cause of accidents and Byxee serves as a sharp reminder to
stay alert and stay alive.”
Keep
in mind, the speed of the bike shortens the warning time; at 10mph, it
will beep five seconds before the pothole, manhole, or vicious lip of a
metal sheet, at 30 mph, warning time is reduced to two seconds. Byxee’s
sensors are supposed to be intelligent enough to recognize if the bike
is part of riders and will begin scanning again when it has a free
stretch.
This is both good and bad, because it’s unclear how
helpful it would be in situations like the one in the video. Further,
Byxee is optimized to scan tarmac roads during day rides. Based on these
features and limitations, Byxee seems like a wise investment for those
who ride in small groups or alone on busy paved roads, and could even be
work for scooters and e-bikes.
Byxee is seeking $135,000 in
funding on Indiegogo to enable the firm to produce a prototype that’s
ready to ship by January 2016. If you grab a super early bird for $140,
plus $25 shipping, you’ll save $110 on the otherwise hefty $250 price
tag. While Byxee is a welcome addition especially for those who ride
rough and busy roads, this is yet another piece of hardware to mount to
your bars. It would be excellent to have this technology incorporated
into a bike computer, or a bike computer added to this tech. Until then,
better safe than sorry.
Courtesy: DigitalTrends
