Cycling has become a very popular means of fitness and recreational activity and it still remains a low-cost and effective transportation alternative given the rising oil prices and traffic congestion. The bicycle industry is expected to reach almost $65 Billion in sales by 2019 globally. With 87% of global production, the majority of the worlds bicycles are produced and distributed from China and Taiwan. On average, China exports around 60 million bicycles to countries like United States, Japan, and Indonesia.
Evolution of the Bicycle
The innovations made to bicycle goes far back as 1818, when German’s Baron von Drais invented the Draisienne – a steerable bicycle, which is also known as Velocipede. It was almost completely made of wood and it had no peddles. Riders had to propel it by pushing their feet against the ground, which gave it a name of “hobby horses”. At the time, the speed record for this bicycle was ~15 km/hr or ~10 mph. In 1840s, the riders realized that they could balance the bicycle without their feet touching the ground. In the early 1860s, Frenchmen Pierre Michaux and Pierre Lallement took bicycle design in a new direction by adding pedals in an enlarged front wheel. This invention prompted the ‘Boneshaker’, which was developed in 1869 and this was the first type of bicycle with peddles. The bicycles also had spokes, rubber wheels, and gearshifts.
The ‘Boneshaker’ was replaced by the ‘Penny-Farthing’ in 1870, which was created by a French inventor Eugene Meyer. In 1876, English engineer, Harry John Lawson designed the ‘Safety Bike’, which was marketed as being safer than the high wheelers they were replacing. The safety bikes were then modified by the Americans to make the ‘Road Bike’ in 1960s by adjusting the handle bars to provide aerodynamics.
The Americans also created the ‘Mountain Bike’ in the 1970s, which was used for off-road biking. The bicycle industry in 1970s saw a spike in growth due to the soaring oil prices in western countries like the United States. In today’s age, electric bikes are slowly coming in to the picture as cycling is becoming a viable option for many.
The Self-Driving Bicycle
Besides the addition of an electric motor, the bicycle industry hasn’t seen any major innovation since the 1870s. However, this is about to change as a group of Chinese students, at the Automation Experimental Teaching Center of Tsinghua University in Beijing, have developed a fully functioning self-driving bicycle. The bicycle is able to move forward and turn at different speeds using the steering control method.
The project was initiated with a goal of building a bicycle that can keep its balance just like a human. The Bicycle uses steering control to produce a centrifugal force to keep balance. The self-driving bicycle is designed to separately control the forward motion and the balance of the bicycle. The forward control system provides a stable speed to the rear wheel and adjusts the torque of the motor depending on the forward speed commands. In addition, a steering-angle-balance-control method is used to keep the bicycle system in balance. Through real-time feedback, the roll angle of the bicycle and the curve of the steering is managed by a controller. Check out the video below to watch the Self-Driving bicycle in action:
The benefits and use cases of a Self-Driving Bicycle
At first, the concept of a self-driving bicycle seems counter intuitive as the purpose of the bike is to be able to ride it. However, just like autonomous cars, there are some benefits that you might gain if you are not looking to use the bicycle just for fitness activity purposes. The self-driving bicycle is trying to make biking safer, smarter, and easier using the self-driving technology to sense the environment around it. The cameras and sensors together with sophisticated software can be used to prevent collisions by detecting fast moving objects or people. The Self-driving capability can also be used for carrying your cargo (water, equipment, etc) while you are busy with other activities. The bicycle can also follow you around if you are exercising outdoors so that you can use it for going longer distance. The smart technology can also help prevent the possibility of bike theft as it can lock it self or send you notification to the rider if it senses an authorized user. In the future, Professor Mingguo Zhao’s team is planning on adding a GPS system to have the bicycle ride along a planned route automatically without human supervision.
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Sources: Worldatlas, Springer
I am officially a tech addict and enjoy providing my views on matters related to this industry. I am always interested in trying out new tech gadgets and I have owned multiple smartphones including the legendary HTC One, SGS2, Nexus 4, iPhone 4, 5S, 6S, XR, Note 9. You can ask me any tech related questions in the comment section or on twitter @hookedNav