Category: concept

Transforming Bicycle – Bike to Cart

One problem with biking to the grocery store is that you have to lock up the bike. The other problem is that most bikes aren’t really designed to carry a lot of goods, and unless you’re just getting a bag of chips (not exactly health food for riders), you might have a hard time transporting your purchases home.

The Ville Urban Folding Bicycle, which won a Bronze Prize at last year’s IDEA Design Awards might just be the solution. It is a folding bike that essentially transforms into cart to help you do your shopping, and then with a quick change you can be ready to ride home with a bike that includes baskets for your goods. And unlike those actual Transformers from movies and cartoons, this one actually seems practical!

[Via Yanko Design: How To Fold A Bike Into A Cart]

Gunshot Detectors Tell Where Shots Are Coming From

The Army recently announced that they will be shipping 13,000 Individual Gunshot Detectors (IGD) to Afghanistan specifically to be used by the dismounted Soldiers. These devices, manufactured by QinetiQ North America, consist of four sensors and a small screen that will pickup and identify the direction of incoming gunfire. The small sensor is about the size of a deck of playing cards and can detect the supersonic sound waves generated by the enemy shot and instantaneously alert the Soldier of the direction and distance of the enemy fire.

Stationary and vehicle mounted systems have been in use for years, but this is the first time that a system weighing less than two pounds is being widely distributed to the Troops. The Army plans to distribute 1,500 more IGD per month for the next twelve months.

The Army plans to integrate the individual IGD devices into the larger Land Warrior and Nett Warrior systems essentually networking in the entire battle group. Not only will one Soldier know where the enemy fire cam from, but others will also know at the same time.

Though this is not a sports or fitness related product and can not be purchased by the general public, Kinetic Shift feels that anything that can save the life of a Soldier is worth mentioning!

U.S. Army Official Website: “Army deploying ‘Individual Gunshot Detector’”

Sensors Watch Your Every Move

Post-game for many pro and collegiate teams often involve watching video and analyzing every move. But what if coaches and players could analyze more specific moves. Did an athlete’s foot falter? Did the player put enough force behind a throw? What about follow-through? That’s not always evident on video, but with sensors in clothing video could be supplemented or even replaced with data and possibly even 3D modeling of each play. A company called 24eight, Advanced Technology Innovation, is creating clothing with sensors for just that purpose. Continue reading Sensors Watch Your Every Move

Cane-do Bike from Bamboo

We’ve noted other “green” bikes, including those made from renewable materials including bamboo, but recently Vijay Sharma showed that he has a cane-do spirit for making bikes from the quick growing grass (which bamboo technically is rather than a wood).

What makes these bikes stand out is that Sharma has created his bikes using the skills his father, a carpenter, taught him. The result is that Sharma has turned this into a not-so-small business making the Bambikes. Sharma also notes that bamboo is comparable to steel in terms of strength, something the people in North-East India know quite well as the material is used to build houses. Bamboo is also known to be shock-absorbent and flexible, while still retaining rigid – qualities that are essential for bicycles. Continue reading Cane-do Bike from Bamboo

Nylon Bike Made From Copier Technology

When we think of “carbon copy” technology we think of the old days when carbon paper was used to make multiple copies of a document. This technology is still used (albeit less and less) with some rental agreements and other business contracts. However, when we think of “carbon copy” for bicycles, we tend to think of how a line of bikes all looks the same.

The truth is that all bikes are still somewhat made individually, even if the parts are more or less the same. No two bikes are truly “copies.” But British engineers Chris Turner and Andy Hawkins may have developed a bike that could very well be the first of a line of copies – bikes that are so much alike they could be considered clones! Their Airbike is made entirely of nylon – yes nylon – but it is supposedly as strong as steel. What is more interesting is that the bike has been created using a process called additive layer manufacturing (ALM). Continue reading Nylon Bike Made From Copier Technology

Sketchers Enlists After-School All-Stars for Design

Students participating in the national After-School All-Stars after-school program will learn shoe design from Sketchers. The athletic footwear brand will teach classes about the creative process and mechanics of footwear design in a curriculum developed by the Sketchers fitness Group design team. Continue reading Sketchers Enlists After-School All-Stars for Design

StreetFlyer: Almost Like Flying But Not Really

It was really tempting to file this one under Kinetic(Mis)Shift. What we have here is a device that suspends the user over the ground to provide the sensation of flying but without the worry of getting airsick – or crashing. This three-wheeled human-powered vehicle, called a StreetFlyer, is the brain child of Dr. Carsten Mehring and it works by letting the “rider” feel like he or she is flying after they gain enough momentum to life the legs off the ground.

Since the user is just a few feet above the ground there is no worry about a crash. But as the user is just a few feet above the ground does it really feel like flying? You be the judge.

[Via Gizmag: StreetFlyer: hang-gliding on three-wheels]

 

Helmet That Senses a Crash

There’s been a lot of attention given to head injuries on the football field and the development of better helmets that can prevent concussions and other injuries. But that’s on a field with other players, coaches, spectators and plenty of people who can dial 911. What happens if you’re biking alone and crash?

In the case of cyclist Leigh Fazzina, she posted messages to Twitter to get help after not getting a signal for voice. That’s just not always possible with a head injury. That’s why we’re looking forward to the release of SenseTech, a helmet-mounted sensor that connects to your phone via Bluetooth and contacts emergency services in the case of impact. “Ours is a device which would help the athlete and his (or her) family to be better informed on the level of impact they are taking, and which oens are of concern,” said Biju Thomas, designer of the SenseTech.

Still under development, the sensor’s designer is Biju Thomas, a team cook who has served meals to Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong, among other pro cyclists.

The SenseTech is “a system of sensors embedded in the fused fabric (pad inserts), and a tiny sensor Bluetooth Relay, which transmits activity to a cell phone, which most every rider has in his pocket,” said Thomas.

SenseTech is currently in testing and will likely be released in the fall for use on the field and hopefully on the trail soon after that.

via [Medill Reports Chicago]

SolaRoad Uses Cycling Trails at Test Bed

Dutch company TNO recently presented its idea for the SolaRoad. While the application will likely be used for roads eventually, TNO has its eye on Holland’s 15,000 km of bike paths to start installation of its solar panel-infused road.

The current conceptual design for the SolaRoad consists of modules. For the cycling application, the path will consist of prefab elements made up in layers: a concrete housing, solar cells, and optical layer and a transparent top layer. The concrete element will measure 1.5 by 2.5 meters and each layer will be placed on top. The glass will be a 1 cm thick hardened glass layer of crystal silicon solar cells. The road surface will then collect roughly 50 kWh per square meter annually. An average household consumes about 3,500 kWh of electricity per year.

Solar roadways have a few criteria in the design and implementation such as stiffness and maintenance. Benefits the SolaRoad can provide include the ability to display messages electronically on the road. If it’s a cycling path, the road can display a message that the upcoming light is turning red in cases where the path crosses a road. It also eliminates what TNO calls “landscape pollution”.

New applications to collect solar energy are interesting to watch. It will be great to see the roadways become potential solar farms rather than taking up vast open spaces to install solar panel farms. However with a top layer of glass, we are interested to see what the actual surface will be like. Roads especially, but even bike paths, can get slick with even the slightest amount of rain. How will the glass and other layers of SolaRoad stand up to cold and extreme weather conditions? We know this isn’t your average glass, but it sure can get cold and snowy  in those winter months in the Netherlands.

For more information visit TNO and locate the English option.

via [Cyclecious]

Meet Copenhagen’s New Waste Treatment Plant and Ski Slope

A new waste-to-energy plant on the outskirts of Copenhagen will double as a recreational ski area. Design firm Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) won the design competition for client Amagerforbraending to create a waste-to-energy treatment plant on the crossroads between a residential neighborhood and an industrial zone. Another criteria for the building is to serve as a recreational area.

Continue reading Meet Copenhagen’s New Waste Treatment Plant and Ski Slope

Gym-Pact Taxes Gym No-Shows

Would you skip going to the gym if you knew you’d have to pay a penalty? In the past gym goers might get a discount from their health plan when they go to the gym regularly. However the motivation to work out may be that much stronger if you pay for the days you don’t show up.

Continue reading Gym-Pact Taxes Gym No-Shows

Bike Android from Pioneer

Gadget blogs are buzzing — or should we say spinning their wheels — about an Android-based cyclocomputer in development by Pioneer. It wasn’t openly on display at CES earlier this month, and Pioneer doesn’t have anything posted on its US or Japan sites, however this video from DigInfo has an interview with one of the developers in Japan and some operational footage of the unit itself.

It will measure the typical speed, distance and cadence. Expect it also to have navigation and other typical read outs. A sensor on the crank, or pedaling meter will measure the force vectors of their left and right feet on the pedals and crank.

The computer will be Ant+ compliant, which is a wireless sensor network solution, so it will be able to talk to other devices. We expect for starters it will talk to your Android-based phone.

Last summer Apple filed a patent for a cycling app, though there haven’t been any announcements on when that will come out or if it will have even half of the functionality of this Pioneer computer.

via [Engadget and Android Fanatic]

NAIAS: Smart Shows its Ebike

At the North American International Auto Show, also referred to as the Detroit Auto Show, Daimler’s smart ebike concept bike was on display. We wrote about the bike last fall when electric car manufacturer smart planned to display it at the 2010 Paris Auto Show. We thought it was worth showing again now that we got to take a look at it, and find out more details.

It’s a striking bike. The simple modified triangle design looks futuristic. While it looks light, it weighs in at approximately 50 lbs. With a full charge, the bike has about a 50 mile range though that varies on how much you use the electricity versus pedaling. There’s four modes of electric assist that seem to kick in as needed rather than controlled by the rider. At 50 lbs. I can see wanting the assist more often than on any of my current bikes, especially when faced with a hill. You recharge the battery slightly when you brake, so you can squeeze a few more miles to a ride if you’re strategic. Continue reading NAIAS: Smart Shows its Ebike