Before the Internet of Things arrived bike lights had just one job to do, but now it seems that multi-tasking is mandatory. The Fast bike light is looking to meet this brief by incorporating accident alerts and anti-theft functionality, along with some nifty optical effects.
The Fast looks pretty much like your standard bike tail light, but it's equipped with 8 RGB LEDs, Bluetooth Low Energy connectivity and ambient light and motion sensors. Working in conjunction with an iOS/Android app, the motion monitoring system employs an algorithm to detect when you've taken a tumble and sends an alert an emergency contact via smartphone.
Similarly, the sensor detects vibration and will sound an alarm and send an alert to your phone when someone is tinkering with your bike. Like many anti-theft systems, the effectiveness of this approach could come down to how slick the thieves are, but unlike the BTrack light there's no GPS tracking to help you locate your steed once it's out of sight.
The app also allows you to customize the light settings with a huge array of colors and various different flashing modes. In ISO-Auto mode, the inbuilt light sensor detects ambient light and switches on the device automatically when night time approaches. Fast can also be used off the bike for photography or as a wake-up light linked to your smartphone alarm.
A micro-USB port takes care of recharging the lithium polymer batter, which is good for 10 hours on the brightest setting or 30 days standby after a two-hour charge, according to the creators.
The team behind Fast is running a Kickstarter campaign to raise the funds needed to finalize the app and tool up for mass production. Pledges for the light start at US$19 and if all goes to plan, the team says it will ship the Fast light in November.
The Kickstarter pitch video is below.
Source: FASTeam
