Copenhagen wheel from MIT makes bikes ‘smart’
For thousands of years people have said that there’s no need to reinvent the wheel. MIT’s Senseable City Lab did it anyway and came up with a smarter way to bike.
The Copenhagen wheel borrows a page from the hybrid cars of late by storing kinetic energy whenever the rider brakes the bicycle. That stored energy can then help the rider up a hill or whenever the going gets tough.
What’s even more impressive is that the bike can sense when you need an assisted boost. And both the Braun and brains of the Copehangen wheel are mounted inside a hub on the rear wheel.
The MIT lab also included bluetooth capability in the wheel that allows you to monitor your progress and surrounding traffic conditions via an iPhone. The wheel was created for the city of Copenhagen to encourage people to leave their cars at home.
At an expected price of just $500-1000 for a Copenhagen-capable bike, these could become standard fare for city-dwellers.
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February 13th, 2010
Possibly you can help me! I am looking to buy a motorbike for my boy and i simpy dont know what type of bike i should be going getting? I mean when i got my motorcycle i knew exactly what i wanted for a long time, but he is unsure what he wants? Is there maybe a decent way to determine whats best?