BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

link to full article: http://www.cmu.edu/homepage/creativity/2011/summer/aura-of-success.shtml

hmm... I guess my concern about Side visibility is probably 5% of that concern for Front and Back. Should I be, more, concerned?

i think my greatest concern is visibility from the front, followed closely by from behind, and from the side is practically not even on the radar. however, i imagine these rims are rather visible from all directions.

I saw one of these last week! I was also on a bike and it was dark. From the front it just looked... odd... but enough to catch my attention and make me look; then the cyclist turned and WHOA!

Powered by what? I don't want to lug around a couple pounds of batteries.

It says it is powered by generator hubs. Didn't you watch the little video?

Nope, sorry, missed the video. Not mentioned in the article.

I think it's a very cool design exercise, but I don't see a practical application.

You can buy valve stem lights from China for two bucks, with batteries in them. Granted, they aren't nearly as bright, but comparatively they are still much more practical.

I think what makes it cool is the generator hub, otherwise it's not that much cooler than, say, http://www.ladyada.net/make/spokepov/ . Also dude didn't signal his turn.

I think it's awesome. REALLY like this: "Move faster, and the lights change from red to white, giving a clear sense of speed and motion."

practical application? it might be considered cool enough that an otherwise ninja cyclist might light up, especially if they're affordable. In the city, being visible from the side is really important (most important for intersections, which are more common in urban areas). When driving I really notice people with spoke lights, more than just front/rear. Maybe it's novelty, but I think they're also just more visible.

Just because there are similar products on the market doesn't mean that this doesn't have a place too - it means there's a market for exactly this type of product. AND it's designed right here. It'd be nice if they'd be manufactured locally too, but that may not be realistic.

I like the use of a hub generator too.

I *REALLY* like the color changing, I've often wished for a brake light on my bike, and this is the closest I've seen.

especially if they're affordable

The LEDs and such are cheap, but generator hubs tend not to be. You'll have to rebuild your wheels to get these lights. That is a big investment in time and money to get some blinken lights. The do look pretty f-ing cool though.

I *REALLY* like the color changing, I've often wished for a brake light on my bike, and this is the closest I've seen.

This would be a doable and relatively inexpensive project with a little arduino hacking. You might consider contacting some geeks at hackpittsburgh.org for advice/instruction if you're really interested in making such a thing.

I had a grand idea to mount an LED array to the back of my rear rack to display my current speed. I got as far as sourcing some parts before life took over. I need another 8 hours in every day.

"I need another 8 hours in every day"

totally ditto. that, plus lack of confidence, is the reason I don't do most of the things I dream up.

It'd be sweet to have an LED display with understandable red brakelights and yellow arrow turn signals.

I wanted to experiment with something like this for Flock With Lights. Take a look at this instructable.

Get some of these LEDs. (There are other colors.)

Wire them in parallel.

Make a battery holder out of a binder clip.

Power them with a 3V 2032 button cell battery. Throw a switch between the battery and the lights. Of course I'm not sure if this would work or not, but it would have been fun. For some reason I just couldn't pull it together in time. (Something about having a baby at home that demands every minute of my attention and energy. *Yawn ZZzzzzz*)

Also, I really want those Pac-Man lights.

I love this project, but it does have several limitations to make into a viable product.

Creating a similar effect in a much different, and rather elegant way, is the Lunasee product which uses luminescent film to achieve a nearly identical effect.

The real differentiating factor with the Aura project is the ability for color change, which I think could be pushed further.

your weight is likely to move erratically, if at all, through the plastic tube. besides, wouldn't accelerometers controlling the voltage to LEDs using a microcontroller be more fun?

A variation that I'm too lazy to look up on Instructables uses hard drive magnets strapped to the wheel to generate power for a few LEDs...I'm sure you could attach them to the stays instead as a non-erratic power source for wheel-mounted LEDs.

mmm, not so much worried about erratic-ness, but at high speed when you need it most inertia would stick the magnet to one place in the tube. So yeah, just attach a magnet to the fork.