We've already seen hand-mounted rearview mirrors and hand-mounted LED turn indicators designed for use by cyclists. British entrepreneur Paul Tolley has now combined the two, in the magnetically-activated Mirror Indicate – or Mi, for short.
Secured by an elastic strap, Mi sits on the back of either of the user's hands as they ride. Whenever they want to check for traffic behind them, they just hold that hand up and look in the mirror. Bike-mounted mirrors could obviously serve the same purpose, although a hand-mounted mirror is likely to be less shaky (when it's held off the handlebars, that is), plus its user can twist their hand around to check blind spots.
Once the rider is ready to turn, they just tap Mi against an included bar-mounted magnet, causing the device's two 60-lumen LEDs to start flashing. They then perform a traditional one-arm turn signal (in which is a straight arm indicates a left turn, and that same arm being bent indicates a right turn), with the lights visible to both oncoming and following traffic. After that turn is complete, they do another magnet-tap to turn the lights off.
Mi is claimed to be waterproof, and its ABS body should stand up to temperatures ranging from 40 to -40 ºC (104 to -40 ºF). Power is provided by a replaceable lithium coin cell battery – no figures on run time have been provided.
While the whole thing does sound like a good idea, we do wonder if upon seeing a flashing amber light held out to one side of the cyclist, some drivers might just assume that they're turning to that side. Perhaps one device per hand, and left-arm/right-arm signals might be a better way to go?
Anyway, should you be interested, Mi is currently the subject of a Kickstarter campaign. A pledge of £30 (about US$38) will get you one, when and if they reach production.
Source: Kickstarter
