LaserLight | GIZMODO.cz

By reimagining and “fixing” the bicycle light, BLAZE have found a way to make cycling on the busy streets among cars and buses a lot safer for anyone who has £125 to spend.

According to the company, 79% of cycle accidents occur when the bicycle is travelling straight ahead and a vehicle manoeuvres into them. So how does the laserlight prevent all of that pain and damage?

It projects the image of a bike 5-6 metres onto the road ahead. This alerts vehicles of the unseen cyclists and prevents drivers from turning across their path.

The Laserlight is rechargeable, USB compatible and 100% waterproof. It is fitted with a Li-on battery that works for about 13 hours before needing to be recharged, and it will enter saving mode. What does that mean? It goes into a lower power usage for about four hours before shutting down completely.

Is this what’s going to save some lives and prevent a lot of accidents between cyclists and drivers who don’t always see eye to eye on who should be on the road? For that price, and free shipping according to the company, it looks like something worth spending if you’re someone who spends a lot of time wriggling between cars.

Via: Blaze

This isn’t the new invetion to improve the safety of cyclists. Check out Cyclodrone.

One way that sensors can track your position without using an array of satellites is by measuring your acceleration as you move around -- but unless you're piloting a jumbo jet, current devices aren't very accurate. Researchers at Caltech hope to change all that with a new, ultra-sensitive accelerometer they developed, which uses laser light to detect motion changes. The scientists managed to shrink a so-called large-scale interferometer down to micro-scale sizes, creating a device "thousands of times faster than the most sensitive sensors used today." That could allow a smartphone with such a micro-sensor to detect your exact position even while inside a grocery store, and flash "ads and coupons for hot dog buns" while you're in the bread aisle, according to Caltech. All that sounds good, but we can perhaps think of more inspiring uses for the new tech.

Filed under: Cellphones, Science, Alt

Caltech laser accelerometer research may bring fine-tuned position tracking, grocery ads originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Oct 2012 13:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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