THE COPENHAGEN WHEEL
http://senseable.mit.edu/copenhagenwheel/wheel.html
The Copenhagen Wheel turns the bike you already own,
quickly and easily into an electric bike with regeneration
and real-time environmental sensing capabilities.
The wheel harvests the energy you input while braking and cycling and stores it for
when you need a bit of a boost.
At the same time, sensors in the wheel are collecting
information about air and noise pollution, congestion and road conditions.
The Copenhagen Wheel differs from other electric bikes in that all components are
elegantly packaged into one hub.
There is no external wiring or bulky battery packs,
making it retrofittable into any bike.
Inside the hub, we have arranged a motor,
3-speed internal hub gear, batteries, a torque sensor, GPRS and a sensor kit that
monitors CO, NOx, noise (db), relative humidity and temperature.
In the future,
you will be able to spec out your wheel according to your riding habits and needs.
Live in San Francisco? Add more battery power.
Interested in real-time applications? Increase the number of sensors.
Lastly, the wheel is controlled through your Smart Phone and becomes a natural
extension of your everyday life.
Simply place your phone on the handlebars, and
its Bluetooth module syncs with the Bluetooth module in the hub of the Copenhagen Wheel.
You can then use your phone and our Copenhagen Wheel Application to unlock and lock
your bike, change gears, select how much the motor assists you and for viewing
relevant real-time information.
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