Illuminated Commuting

Video

Aveen Nagpal

Illuminated Commuting

Sam Katz and Aveen Nagpal

Aveen:

Illuminated Commuting is a system that enables bikers and skateboarders to communicate with drivers much as a driver would use their car lights to communicate with other drivers. Illuminated Commuting can be attached to an existing helmet and is controlled with a touch glove that has fingertips made out of conductive thread; this allows the user to simply tap one of their fingers to their thumb in order to activate one of the lights, instead of having to find the correct button on a little remote. Use of this system will lower the number of accidents on bikes and skateboards in scenarios where a driver or other commuter misinterprets a hand signal or doesn't see the other party due to low light. The helmet is equipped with a multitude of LED strips in order to maintain a minimalistic look while maximizing visibility and ease of installation. Conductive thread woven into each fingertip of a glove creates a sort of "touch glove", such that when the fingertips touch the common ground (in this case, the thumb) they close the circuit and act as a kind of switch. In a future iteration, a Bluetooth module will allow the glove and helmet to communicate wirelessly, replacing the wire that runs up and down the user's sleeve.

Sam:

A glove and helmet that work together to make motorcycles, bikes, and skateboards safer. The glove uses touchpoints on the fingertips to activate turn signals, brake lights, and visibility lights on the helmet. 

       Designed to make motorcycling, biking, and skateboarding safer, Illuminated Commuting allows a user to activate brake lights, turn signals, and visibility lights on the rider's helmet by means of a glove with touchpoints on the fingertips. Illuminated Commuting will have a great effect on the world because it will reduce deaths and injuries due to accidents among bikers, cyclists, and skaters. This project brings attention to the safety of people who use alternative methods of transportation. In general, drivers are not careful enough towards the well being of these people. The user interacts with the glove simply by pressing a finger to their thumb. The thumb acts as a common ground, with the other four fingers as the left turn signal, visibility light, brake light, and right turn signal. This is innovative because it allows for easy signaling for a biker. Using conductive thread in the fibers of the glove causes there to be no wires in it. There are currently no products that do what this glove will do.