Haptic Feedback System for Bicycles
The statistical data of convictions and accidents involving bicycles by the House of Lords Library and Department for Transport show that careless cycling and visual interference have always been the most mentioned factors for unsafe road behaviour. To allow cyclists to ride more safely, a feedback system that would minimize distractions needs to be proposed.
Riders may want to keep being navigated or detect their health condition, so that bike computer becomes a good choose. However, visual feedback information from the screen may cause significant distraction during riding, which can be very dangerous for cyclists. In order to reduce these influences, a haptic feedback system which transmit information to the rider through different vibration patterns was designed.
A retro-fitted structure makes users can select their preferred handlebar grips. Compatible with any grips with thickness between 1 and 5 mm, the product can be installed easily to any bicycle with a 22.5 mm diameter handlebar. Furthermore, soft rubber fastener of the terminal part allows it can be fitted to bike shafts with different section shapes and various dimensions.
After several anthropometry modelling and testing, an organism curved feedback panel form was selected. With a combination with the mechanism structure, the feedback pad can fit onto users’ palm perfectly which increased users’ comfortability.
Equipped with a terminal containing GPS modular, Bluetooth chip and accelerometer, this product can deliver various information on convenience, safety and health, such as on-time navigation, speed limitation as well as physiological data detection.
For assistant information, a screen was also provided for the user to confirm information when needed. A user interface was designed to ensure the distraction caused by these visual feedback was minimized. With minimized amount of verbal characters and largest intuitive icons, information on screen can be read and understood rapidly with a glance.
Design work