Planet Arduino

Bike helmets can help minimize injuries in the event of an accident, but could a helmet also be used to help prevent a crash, or even enhance your riding experience? ESUB Tracks from WertelOberfell attempts to do both, featuring a variety of electronic enhancements which are powered by photovoltaic cells wrapped around its outer surface.

ESUB Tracks includes a lighting arrangement on the back for turn signaling, triggered using voice commands to the helmet’s piezoelectric microphone. Additionally, it has a sensor to detect rapidly approaching vehicles from behind, warning the wearer of this condition via haptic feedback. Bone-conductive speakers are provided for listening to Bluetooth audio, and if all of that wasn’t enough, it even tightens down the straps when the buckle is fastened.

Overall control is accomplished using an Arduino Nano 33 BLE Sense, and you can see more of this amazing device in the video below.

Riding a bicycle can be a great way to get around, and/or even to get some needed exercise. When you mix in automobile or foot traffic, though, things get a bit more complicated. This could be blamed, in part, on the fact that bikes don’t have the same running lights, turn or brake signals as motorized vehicles. 

To address this problem, BLINK!’s patented Integrated Lighting System (iLS) has been designed to provide a visible communication solution that’s easily understandable by other road users. 

This custom saddle—which was prototyped using an ATmega328P-based Arduino— features lighting for 270º visibility, and brightens automatically for braking when deceleration is detected. In addition, iLS includes a pair of remotely activated turn signals. This allows the rider to indicate direction changes without removing his or her hand from the handlebars to awkwardly point. 

BLINK! has been embedded into a wide range of saddles and installation should be fairly straightforward. Not only will it certainly help enhance road safety, iLS will look fantastic while doing so.