If you remember the Pico Projector bicycles that were used a couple of weeks ago to create lanes for the cyclists to cycle around in – well it looks like they’re not the only ones with such an idea. A British Design student, Emily Brooke from the University of Brighton, has also come up with something similar, though her idea is something dedicated to making life for cyclists safer than as part of an artsy video experiment.
Called Blaze, it is a handlebar mounted laser that projects the image of a bicycle ahead of the cyclist to warn other motorists of a bicycle approaching. According to her, 80% of cycle accidents occur when bicycles travel straight ahead and other vehicles turn into them without even realizing they’re there. It is with the use of the laser projected image that she hopes will help other motorists will notice that there’s a bicycle behind them and that they will be more cautious when making a turn.
While this sounds fine in theory, it’s hard to see it working, especially since the bicycle shines the laser onto the ground. If drivers don’t pay attention to the ground, but only look at what’s around them at their eye-level, they won’t be able to notice the laser at all. And what if the bicycle is behind another vehicle? The laser won’t be able to shine through it, which renders it pretty useless as well. Well since it’s only a concept design it can be improved. What do you think of such a device?