More than 2 years ago we were approached by the Municipality of Ede to think along in the development of a Connected Bike Module. A solution to give cyclists the green light for a custom made request. This resulted in an assignment to develop an MVP of both the hardware and software needed to make this possible.
The solution we developed makes use of LoRa, GPS, a cycling device and intelligent software that can ultimately predict routes based on cycling behaviour from the past.
At http://future-city.nl/eerste-pitches-dutch-future-city-conference-geselecteerd/ the following has been written about it for a conference where we will tell more about the solution in September 2018.
Connected i-Bike creates with IoT a green wave for cyclists in Ede. We already selected Connected i-Bike as one of the pitches at the Dutch Future City Conference (19 September in the Jaarbeurs Utrecht). At this conference we bring supply and demand in the field of the smart city together. We will do this at the Marktplaats, where concrete questions and solutions for the smart city will be pitched.
The first pitches have been selected. We asked three questions to Manfred van der Voort, founder of ICR3ATE | Digital Makers Lab. They developed the Connected i-Bike to stimulate the use of the bike. Also just like Van der Voort Pitching at the Dutch Future City Conference? T/m 19 July 2018 you can register here.
A self-communicating bicycle that makes the traffic lights go green. Nice! Explain. ‘Traffic control systems (VRI) now put cars first. We think this should be different. Give cyclists priority over cars with smart VRIs, especially when it’s raining. By creating a green wave for cyclists we hope to stimulate people to take the bike instead of the car. With this we want to improve the accessibility of inner cities and reduce the emission of particulate matter. From July 1st we will start a pilot in cooperation with the Municipality of Ede in the city centre of Ede.
How exactly does the Connected i-Bike work?
‘Connected i-Bikes get a custom device with sensors and GPS for location. This allows them to make a green light request. The system is self-learning and can theoretically create a personalized green wave. This machine learning system is unique. We have deliberately chosen not to use an app. We don’t want to encourage cyclists to use their smartphone while they are participating in traffic. The sensors also have the potential to be used to detect potholes in the road’.Who hopes to meet you at the Dutch Future City Conference?
‘We are very happy to test the application and Ede, but would also like to bring the Connected i-Bike to the attention of other municipalities. In addition, we would like to get in touch with municipalities that apply similar solutions so that we can learn from each other’s considerations. We would also like to reach people in the world of traffic control, so that we can make it clear to them that it’s not cars, but cyclists that should be the focus when it comes to FTIs.