Due to the rise of the electric bicycle, speeds on bike paths are increasing. However, this comes at the expense of safety. At the University of Twente, they are working on a Smart Connected Bikes project in which new technology is being tested to improve the safety of e-bikes.
This particular study focused on reducing speed at dangerous intersections. To get an idea of how this technology works, Mobycon took part in one of the tests. Three rounds had to be completed on an electric bicycle. Sensors tracked sweating and heart rate. On the handlebars was a tablet that allowed users to give feedback on their experience with the bike or the surroundings using happy and sad smileys.
The first round was a baseline measurement to assess how the ride felt.
In the second round, a sort of headset indicated where the dangerous points during the ride were, based on accident statistics. At one of these danger points, the headset began to beep, and the pedal assist was deactivated. When riding faster than 20 km/h, pedal resistance was activated as well.
In the third round, only the pedal assist was deactivated when riding over 20 km/h in dangerous sections of the route.
The heart rate monitor, combined with the smiley-based feedback, helps determine how people react to the pedal resistance and the deactivation of pedal assist.
The beeping in the headset and the loss of pedal assist serve to alert the rider to potential dangers in the environment. Not every user may appreciate when the bike decides for you when you should slow down. One of the current challenges is that the pedal assist is still being turned off based on accident data. The researchers hope that in the future they will be able to use live data that can better assess whether deactivation of the assist is necessary.
The researchers believe there is little chance that people will voluntarily add pedal resistance to their bikes, as it still feels like a limitation. It might work the same way as when seat belts were made mandatory in cars in the 1970s, not everyone liked it, but it did make things safer. Perhaps the same will happen here: once the technology is developed far enough, it may become mandatory on e-bikes. All in the interest of making cycling a bit safer.
More about the research from the University of Twente can be found here.