Improve Bike Safety With Bikesphere

The safety of pedal bike riding in urban areas and when in nearness to passing cars has certainly come into question many times over the last decade - in the UK at least - and it's age-old issue hasn't been resolved quite as of yet. With the success of ground paint lines to create lanes or high-visibility clothing equally questionable, maybe technology is the future?

Designed and manufactured by Michelin, the Bikesphere device is a headlamp by day, bike safety mechanism by night. An orb-like object that sits between the bike's handlebars, the device emits lasers to create a ring of light upon the ground surface around the bike's perimeter. Highlighting the safety distance in which a car must respect to safely pass the bike, the design's intention is to overcome the fact that according to Michelin's own statistics, 1 in 5 car driver doesn't respect any passing gap at all, and thereby 5000 accidents are avoidable each year.

With a detector to analyse the cyclist's environment and change its intensity depending on their situation, should a car be approaching, Bikesphere's laser light will intensify to alert both the cyclist and the driver. A novel approach to a commonly-known issue, is this the way forward? With the headlight feature also included for daytime operation, the device saves battery and saves lives, in theory.

Seeking to learn more from driver's habits, the Bikesphere is the first of a few inventions that are planned by Michelin, dubbed 'Trendy Drivers'. Discover more about Trendy Drivers at: trendydrivers.michelin.es

Photography credit : Michelin