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Was your bike stolen? Don’t worry, it will call you.
If, that is, it’s the new Canadian-designed bike called the Valour.
With thousands of bicycles stolen each year across the country — and less than five per cent recovered — Toronto-based tech firm Vanhawks has come up with an innovative solution to curb the thefts: a lightweight carbon fibre hybrid commuter bike with integrated GPS technology that sends an alert to the owner’s mobile phone to identify the bike’s location.
Other safety features will also provide comfort to regular commuters concerned about road safety.
Alexander Choi, marketing manager at Vanhawks says the whole point of the Valour is to address the “pain points” of riders.
“Cycling in the city is extremely dangerous, there are a huge amount of obstacles, other vehicles on the road, and we wanted to figure out a way to mitigate that danger,” says Choi.
For example, riders on a new route won’t need to pull out their phone to check where they are; they can program their route right into the application and the information is relayed to the bike. LED indicators in the handlebars will direct the rider along the way. There’s also a “smart route” option that recommends better routes if others are riddled with potholes and tough elevations. And the handlebars will buzz when an object is moving in the rider’s periphery or blind spot.
“Whenever you’re on the road, there’s haptic (tactile) feedback,” said Choi. “So there’s vibration in the handle bars. With haptic feedback, we notify you if there is a car incoming into your blind spot while you are turning or changing lanes.”
The Valour weighs between 7.3 and 10 kilograms, depending on the size of the frame and number of speeds. Buyers order online and can customize the colour of the frame and rims, choose single or variable gear speed and select from various brake options. It retails for around $1,500.
The company raised $820,000 through a Kickstarter campaign launched last May. The bikes have been in development since then and the first run of around 900 is ready to be shipped to backers and customers around the world this spring.
Choi says this innovative approach to biking is just the beginning for Vanhawks. It hopes to expand its technology to all bikes in the future.
“We see ourselves as being a company that is rethinking how cycling is approached in an urban setting altogether,” says Choi. “Our ambition is to become the operating system layer or software layer for all bikes — whether it’s a peripheral device or something, we want to be able to connect every bike, not just the Valour but every bike to the Vanhawks network.”
pmccooey@ottawacitizen.com
twitter.com/paulamccooey
查看原文...
If, that is, it’s the new Canadian-designed bike called the Valour.
With thousands of bicycles stolen each year across the country — and less than five per cent recovered — Toronto-based tech firm Vanhawks has come up with an innovative solution to curb the thefts: a lightweight carbon fibre hybrid commuter bike with integrated GPS technology that sends an alert to the owner’s mobile phone to identify the bike’s location.
Other safety features will also provide comfort to regular commuters concerned about road safety.
Alexander Choi, marketing manager at Vanhawks says the whole point of the Valour is to address the “pain points” of riders.
“Cycling in the city is extremely dangerous, there are a huge amount of obstacles, other vehicles on the road, and we wanted to figure out a way to mitigate that danger,” says Choi.
For example, riders on a new route won’t need to pull out their phone to check where they are; they can program their route right into the application and the information is relayed to the bike. LED indicators in the handlebars will direct the rider along the way. There’s also a “smart route” option that recommends better routes if others are riddled with potholes and tough elevations. And the handlebars will buzz when an object is moving in the rider’s periphery or blind spot.
“Whenever you’re on the road, there’s haptic (tactile) feedback,” said Choi. “So there’s vibration in the handle bars. With haptic feedback, we notify you if there is a car incoming into your blind spot while you are turning or changing lanes.”
The Valour weighs between 7.3 and 10 kilograms, depending on the size of the frame and number of speeds. Buyers order online and can customize the colour of the frame and rims, choose single or variable gear speed and select from various brake options. It retails for around $1,500.
The company raised $820,000 through a Kickstarter campaign launched last May. The bikes have been in development since then and the first run of around 900 is ready to be shipped to backers and customers around the world this spring.
Choi says this innovative approach to biking is just the beginning for Vanhawks. It hopes to expand its technology to all bikes in the future.
“We see ourselves as being a company that is rethinking how cycling is approached in an urban setting altogether,” says Choi. “Our ambition is to become the operating system layer or software layer for all bikes — whether it’s a peripheral device or something, we want to be able to connect every bike, not just the Valour but every bike to the Vanhawks network.”
pmccooey@ottawacitizen.com
twitter.com/paulamccooey
查看原文...
