gaz
Cycle Camera TV
- Location
- South Croydon
http://www.wired.com/autopia/2012/11/smartphone-automatic-bike/
Using a Bluetooth-enabled smartphone, an electronic gearbox and a few sensors, engineers have built a bike that shifts gears itself without the need for a flywheel.The setup, designed by Cambridge Consultants, places sensors on the main crank and wheel to send both pedaling speed and road speed to a smartphone app. The app calculates the appropriate gear, and sends it via Bluetooth to a Shimano electric shifter, such as the Di2.Should a rider wish to select his or her own gears, shifter buttons on the handlebars will still communicate with the electronic gearbox, also using Bluetooth. Because the entire connection is wireless, there are no cables or flywheels to wear out or add weight to a bike.“We’ve cut the cables between the switches and the gears and replaced them with a smart, low energy version of Bluetooth designed for very long battery life,” Cambridge Consultants’ Tim Fowler told. The system can run for about a year on a single watch battery.