Google might be working on its
driver-less cars that will provide transportation to the world in the next few
years or so, but Samsung is already working with another mode of transportation
that consumers can actually use now.
The Korean tech giant has just
announced a working prototype of a smart bike that uses different sensors and
cameras to monitor road conditions surrounding the rider and use the power of
the internet to help make the ride safer and more social.
The phone connects to the smart
bike via a Bluetooth and is placed in a mount that utilizes magnets. The bike
is equipped with lasers that project a virtual bike lane that’s designed to
make sure motorists give bikers enough space. The lasers can also be set to
automatically fire up when the ambient light sensor in their phones detect that
it’s getting dark. There’s also a rear-facing camera that a rider can use to
view traffic at the back of the bike.
The bike comes with a companion
smartphone app that lets riders share their trips with friends and let users
know which users are near the rider. Samsung has jammed an Arduino computer in
the smart bike to do the number crunching for its smart features.
For now, it looks like Samsung
will just be using the smart bike as a show piece rather than taking it to mass
production, but it wouldn’t be farfetched for the Korean tech giant to get the
bike into mass production especially if there is a lot of consumer interest.
The bike was created in collaboration with Maestro Academy (which was created
by Samsung together with Leo Burnett Italy) in hopes to preserve “Italian
Craftsmanship in the digital age”.
