The joy of cycling across the streets after a day’s work, or cycling with a bunch of friends in your neighborhood are some of the events we sort of miss nowadays. Revisiting our childhood seems to be a far off dream and just when all he hopes seemed lost; there is some good news from Japan for Cycle enthusiasts all across to rekindle their love. Find out more about this IoT DIY.
This is about a project called “FUKUSHIMA Wheel” developed by Jun Yamadera. It is primarily a smart cycle with a kit that measures certain conditions such as radiation levels in the city, humidity, the carbon levels in the air and temperature in the surroundings. This could come in handy in cities where you would want to know if it is good to cycling or not depending upon CO2 and emission levels.
The project was named Fukshima following the aftermath of Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant tragedy post the Tsunami that hit the coast of Japan in year 2011. The secondary aim that this initiative most interestingly is advertising. The rear wheel has set of Gyro-stabilized LEDs on the bicycle which displays location-based information or logos etc while the biker pedals through streets or shopping areas. The Bicycles could be tracked against theft too.
Integrating these bikes on an app with GPS location gives and additional functionality. The user of the bike can rent it out and use it. Once one user reaches the destination the cycle could be dropped until another user finds the cycle on their app.The wheel also has an automated locking system which can be controlled by the app. They could be picked up or left with no worries like boarding or leaving a cab . Now you get all these facilities while you enjoy riding you bicycle.
This Smart bicycle features navigational support apart from sensors. The IoT kit attached to the bike could be connected to smartphone through wireless, and using an app the environmental stats and data could be viewed on the phone screen.
The electronic bit : bGeigie nano geiger kit
The bGeigie is an abbreviation for Bento Geiger Counter. Originally named in Japan its the size of a Bento Lunch Box. When the box was initially introduced during the Fukushima disaster, it was strapped to side of a car and sent in. After this expedition many more boxes where sent and data was shared to the world. Later with the help of an Arduino Board which had GPS, USB, Micro SD Card Slot, a Medcom iRover board for high voltage and signal processing, the miniaturization of the kit began.
The Kit beams the following information:
- Display radiation data on an OLED display in uSv/hr or CPM
- Display and log time and position from onboard GPS receiver
- Combine radiation data with time/date/gps to create a detailed log
- Interface to an iPhone app developed by Safecast to share data
Priced with phone support at about $500 or less the whole kit is an awesome DIY and comes with a lot of community support. The kit comes with a instructions manual which covers all the basics. The kit packs a highly sensitive 2 inch Pancake Geiger Mueller detector, which can detect alpha, beta ,gamma and x-rays.
Story in a Nut Shell
This project is a Do It Yourself (DIY) which any one can implement. It Supports a brilliant social cause , grows community business, helps protect the ecology, saves natural resources for tomorrow and it works on Pedal power. Open your eyes to a healthy lifestyle, breathe easy, beat down traffic stress, show your friends that you cycle, update your stats to share and best of all promote such innovations that give back to nature.
Next time when you take your Bicycle out you will be less worried. Now watch this video and give back your suggestions.
Courtsey: Fukushimawheel
