Motorists see a lot of lights on busy nighttime roads, so it's possible that a bicycle's tail light may not stand out as anything special. The Flock Light is claimed to address that problem, by illuminating the rider's legs as they pedal.
Currently the subject of a Kickstarter campaign, the Flock Light was created by Australian industrial designer Tim Ottaway and architect/bicycle commuter Marie Penny. A preproduction version of the device won an Australian James Dyson Award in 2020.
The current model quickly pops in and out of an included seatpost-mounted "Grip Clip," and shines red LED light in three directions: straight back towards other traffic, and down onto the back of each of the rider's legs. According to Ottaway and Penny, the sight of those moving legs will immediately let drivers know that what they're looking at is a cyclist, as opposed to just another red light on the road.
Using a pushbutton on the device, the Flock Light can be set to one of four modes – Biomotion, for use in most low-light conditions; Group, in which the rear-facing LED is dimmed in order not to blind other cyclists when riding in a group; Daytime, which features a high-intensity, rear-facing-LED-only flashing pattern; and Eco, a lower-output mode which automatically kicks in when the battery gets low.
Speaking of which, one three-hour charge of the Flock Light's 3.7V/950-mAh lithium-polymer battery should be good for three hours of runtime in Biomotion mode, ranging up to 200 hours in Eco. The charge level can be checked via a row of six green LEDs on top of the light.
Assuming it reaches production, a pledge of AUD$102 (about US$72) will get you a Flock Light of your own. The planned retail price is AUD$120 (US$84).
It can be seen in use, in the video below.
UPDATE (May 13, 2024): The Flock Light is now available via the company website, priced at AUD$129.99 (about US$86).
Source: Kickstarter
