el làser protege a los ciclistas


24Abr 2009
Avances para indicar la presencia de ciclistas

Laser ciclistas

Ingeniosa idea del diseñador Leonardo Manavella: un emisor láser que dibuja un

círculo de luz verde alrededor del ciclista para indicar su presencia. El Laser

(que es como se llama el invento) dispone de unos sensores de proximidad, de

modo que si la zona del ciclista es invadida, por un coche por ejemplo, la luz

pasa a ser de color rojo y el ciclista es alertado con una señal acústica.




Eco Factor: Safety laser beam powered by bike movement.

A rise in the number of cars has led to an increase in the number of road

accidents. While our cars are much safer now than they were a decade ago,

bicycling still remains a risky way to commute. This problem is suffered

principally in the big cities where thousands of cars, motorcycles, bikes and

other vehicles share the same infrastructure.

Industrial designer Leonardo Manavella has come up with an ingenious product

that could make bikes the safest and greenest way to commute. Known as the

“Laser,” the system increases the size of a common bicycle with an elliptical

beam of light and gives it a size similar to a car. The principal aim is that

the bicyclists start to respect the same rights and restrictions as a car owner

does and the car owners are tempted to respect the bicyclists.



The Laser consists of four adaptable objects that are connected to a common

bicycle with an auto adhesive tape. Each product comes with a plastic case, a

laser light, distance sensor, a spherical head to regulate the light, three

horns and a rechargeable battery. The battery is recharged with the movement of

the bicycle with a dynamo located in the wheels of the bike.

The laser light draws an ellipse on the floor increasing the size of the bike.

If the sensor is violated, the laser light automatically becomes red and all the

horns start to scream, in a way alerting the rider and the vehicle that entered

the laser generated ellipse. Once the vehicle gets out of the perimeter, the

light again turns green.

[Thanks: Leonardo Manavella]



http://www.ecofriend.org/entry/eco-gadgets-self-powered-laser-makes-bicycling-sa

fe/
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LightLane, Wired.

Un invento parecido es el LightLane, con el que un proyector láser "dibuja" el

carril bici al paso de los ciclistas, aumentando notablemente su visibilidad:

LightLane's Lasers Make an Instant Bike Lane, en Wired.


Fed up with seeing friends getting clipped by cars, the designers at Altitude

combined two things we love -- bikes and lasers -- to create an instant bike

lane and make nighttime cycling a whole lot safer.

Their bike-mounted gadget, called LightLane, beams two bright red lines and the

universal symbol for cyclist on the pavement, neatly delineating a bike lane to

remind motorists to yield a little space. It should make everyone feel a little

more comfort on the road.

"Clearly one of the biggest benefits of bicycle lanes is that there is an

established common boundary that both drivers and riders respect and must stay

within," designer Evan Gant told Wired.com. "However, this requires a great deal

of resources and planning to implement, so we decided to focus on the fact that

the bicycle lane establishes a safety buffer outside of the bicycle's

footprint."

It should cost around $50, and we think it's the best idea for a laser since

Andy Samberg put one on a cat.

The LightLane started life as an entry to a design competition aimed at

promoting bicycle commuting. "Having witnessed several friends be hit by cars

while in traffic, we felt the intimidation of sharing the road was one of the

bigger barriers to commuting by bicycle," Gant said. He designed the gadget with

Alex Tee.

They experimented with different ways of increasing the perceived size of

bicycles, but decided they wouldn't work. "We quickly realized all of these

would compromise the rider's safety by increasing the probability of accidental

clipping," said Gant.

Such an approach also didn't consider the appeal of small size and

maneuverability. After all, if bikes were big and bulky they'd be called

pedicabs. Once they decided tinkering with the physical boundaries were out of

the question, Gant and Tee considered virtual boundaries created by lasers. They

decided it was a much better approach.

"Although it doesn't establish a clear and predictable path for a rider to

follow, it does encourage a driver to provide the rider with a wider berth by

capturing their attention in a different way," Gant said.

LightLane is only effective at night, of course, something Gant said underscores

the need for proper bike lanes. "Permanent lanes are much more proactive and

LightLane is more of a reactive solution to the problem," he said.

Gant and Tee are trying to determine the best color and orientation for the

lasers. Once they tackle that question, they'll turn their attention to

financing and building a prototype that is resistant to rust, easy to clean and

difficult to steal.

If we're lucky, they'll figure out how to make it scorch the paint off any car

parked in a bike lane.

POST UPDATED 4:30 p.m. PDT

http://blog.wired.com/cars/2009/02/lightlanes-lase.html