The rising energy prices have had several positive side
effects, one of which is the increase in commuting via bike. You save energy
and get into better shape. What could be better? But how about when you arrive
at work sporting some sweat stains? Or when you come in panting with helmet
hair? You have to shower and change. It’s a process, but one that is worth it
to both your wallet and your health.
An innovation by MIT unveiled at the Copenhagen Conference
on Climate Change may help with these problems, as well as keeping you a bit
more fresh and clean on your commute.
MIT has created a battery that will fit in the wheel of a
bike. When you step on the brakes, it stores energy. When you need a boost
getting up a hill or finishing the home stretch, it returns that power. The
smart battery measures your effort as you bike, and the hub sensor tells the
motor when to give you some help. You recharge by applying the breaks. The
motor recoups energy while you slow down.
The hope is that the device will make biking more enjoyable
and comfortable, thereby encouraging more people to join the “biking
renaissance,” as Carlo Ratti, MIT director of Senseable City Lab and the
Copenhagen Wheel Project, put it.
“It’s sort of like
‘Biking 2.0’—whereby cheap electronics allow us to augment bikes and convert
them to a more flexible, on-demand system,” he says. In addition to making it biking
easier, it will make commuting over longer distances possible, increasing the
number of people for whom biking to work is an option.
The MIT team added a host of features to make it even more
attractive to consumers, including a Bluetooth connection that allows the wheel
to send data to your iPhone so you can monitor your speed, direction and how
far you have traveled. Commuting? Yeah, there’s an app for that. They also
designed the device to fit into any existing bike easily.
Host to the climate change conference, Copenhagen
will likely be the first to try out the battery as the city tries to transition
its employees from cars to bikes. The wheel battery, which will be sold online
and by electronics and bike vendors, comes with a $500 to $1,000 price tag. Too
steep for a battery? How much does a car payment, insurance, gas and
maintenance cost a month? The battery, at least, helps you get in shape.
It may not completely eliminate sweat stains or help at all
with helmet hair, but the battery does have the potential for helping meet
emissions reduction goals and improving your morning commute.
