In an effort to cut road deaths, the Dutch government will be using a new digital system to automatically reduce electric bicycles’ power in residential or built-up areas of Amsterdam. The Guardian reports: The digital technology, which has been successfully trialled on a 4km stretch of bike lanes at Schiphol airport, was funded by the Dutch ministry of infrastructure and water…
Tag: bicycles
Wrongfully Accused by an Algorithm
In what may be the first known case of its kind, a faulty facial recognition match led to a Michigan man’s arrest for a crime he did not commit. From a report: On a Thursday afternoon in January, Robert Julian-Borchak Williams was in his office at an automotive supply company when he got a call from the Detroit Police Department telling…
Uber Destroys Thousands of Bikes and Scooters
An anonymous reader quotes a report from the BBC: Uber is destroying thousands of electric bikes and scooters, after selling its Jump business to Lime. Videos of its red bikes being crushed at a recycling centre were shared on social media, angering cycling advocates. Uber said it had decided to destroy thousands of its older-model vehicles due to maintenance, liability and…
Wary of Public Transport, Coronavirus-Hit Americans Turn To Bikes
Timothy Aeppel writing for Reuters: The coronavirus pandemic has sparked a surge in bike sales across the United States, according to a major manufacturer and a half dozen retailers interviewed by Reuters. Many of the purchases are by people looking for a way to get outside at a time of sweeping shutdowns and stay-at-home orders aimed at containing the virus: Even…
Q&A With Legendary Designer Yves Behar
Yves Behar doesn’t really need any introduction. The world-renowned Swiss designer is a frequent creative artist in the gadget realm. He’s designed iconic devices like the OLPC, Jawbone Jambox, Herman Miller SAYL chair, and many more. From an interview, where he also talks about his smart lock company August: Input: What is your favorite gadget right now that’s not the new…
MIT Teaches Autonomous Cars How To Deal With Selfish Drivers
Researchers at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) have devised a system that can predict what different cars will do by determining how selfish or selfless a driver is. From a report: Specifically, they used something called social value orientation (SVO), which represents the degree to which someone is selfish (“egoistic”) versus altruistic or cooperative (“prosocial”). The system then…
UK Man Invents Aluminum-Air Battery In His Garage
An anonymous reader quotes a report from CleanTechncia: UK engineer and former Royal Navy officer Trevor Jackson began experimenting with aluminum air batteries at his workshop in the Cornish town of Callington in 2001. At that time, the electrolyte used was extremely caustic and poisonous. After years of experimentation, Jackson devised a new electrolyte — whose composition is a closely guarded…
E-Bikes Are Now Allowed In US National Parks
The National Park Service has expanded the use of e-bikes to allow pedal assist models on the same roads and trails as conventional bicycles so long as they cut off assistance at 28MPH. Officials contend that the policy shift could make parks more accessible and “mitigate” environmental damage while ensuring uses similar to traditional bikes. Engadget reports: E-bikes make it easier…
San Diego’s Connected Streetlights Taught to Recognize Bicycles
Last year the city of San Diego installed 3,200 smart streetlights, each one monitoring 36 x 54 meters of pavement. They originally used the data to time traffic signals — but now Slashdot reader Tekla Perry summarizes a report from IEEE Spectrum: Developers for the City of San Diego spent months training its smart streetlights to recognize and count bicycles from…
Lyft Pulls Its Electric Bikes From the Bay Area After Four Catch on Fire
“Lyft’s Wednesday move to pull all its black and pink electric bikes from the East Bay, San Francisco and San Jose came after flammable battery packs or vandalism caused at least four bikes to catch fire,” reports the Bay Area Newsgroup: San Jose city officials are encouraged by the fact no one was injured when a bike caught fire there on…