Could Google’s new self-driving car one day have to yield to an oncoming smart bicycle?
Samsung introduced the prototype for its Smart Bike at a design trade show in Milan earlier this year, showing off a form of two-wheel transportation that connects to a Samsung smartphone to enable onboard sensors, GPS, and other safety high-tech features. Design Boom reports that Samsung teamed up with Italian frame-builder Giovanni Pelizzoli to build the Smart Bike, which sports a curved frame meant to reduce the roughness of riding on urban terrain.
The bike also has safety features such as laser beams that create an individualized bike lane, and a rearview camera, which syncs with the handlebar-mounted smartphone to allow riders a view of whatever is behind them. Business Insider notes it is not clear yet whether the Smart Bike, which comes enabled with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, will go into full production anytime soon.
Samsung isn’t the first entrant into the smart bike market. Vanhawks Valour recently waged a successful Kickstarter campaign to fund the production of its connected bike, which tracks the rider’s performance and also features security sensors and syncs with smartphones to provide interactive feedback. Helios also offers a bike model with built-in Bluetooth and a GPS tracker.
Meanwhile, Google (GOOG) is thinking a little bigger, having announced plans last month to build a fleet of 100 driverless cars that can shepherd up to two passengers to a destination relying only on sensors to detect location and any possible obstacles, including (maybe?) Smart bikes.