In most of European cities, bicycle has come to be one of the main ways to get around.
The transport efficiency and the resulting quality of life are issues of great importance in our lives.
For this reason, a lot of cities around the world are experimenting a true technology revolution in transportation, implementing highly innovative solutions based on cutting edge technologies. One of them: the smart bicycles.
For our “patent world” section, we are going today to present an example of this great development, able to transform a simple and basic bike into a smart bicycle: “The Copenhagen Wheel”.
As we could see on the video (actually the first commercial version of the Copenhagen Wheel), bicycle is a great way to move around, but sometimes distances are too long.
The technology of Copenhagen Wheel has come to solve the issues related to a “classic” bike. It has been developed by several years at MIT together with the city of Copnhagen, one of the world’s most innovative places fir cycling.
The original inventors licensed the technology to a astratup called Superpedestrian.
But how does this innovative wheel works? It basically learns how you paddle, integrates with your motion and captures your energy, in order to give you a “push” when you need it with 3 to 10 times your regular foot power.
All technology for Copenhagen wheel is contained within the red casing, including motor, removable batteries, wireless connectivity, smart locking, multiple sensors and an embedded control system.
Besides, it is possible to customize the ride by using the smartphone, gathering information from the environment for example.
In order to discover more about this great innovative solution which transform any bike into a smart bicycle, you can consult the following patent document: “Hybrid sensor-enabled wheel and associated systems, multi-hub wheel spoke systems, and methods of manufacturing and installing wheel spokes“.
