SmartHalo turns any bike into a smart bike

Bike lovers may have something to get excited about this week, as a new product just surfaced on KickStarter that aims to make bicycles more tech-friendly. SmartHalo is a new device made for the avid bike rider, and it looks like it’s packing some great features. It’s a relatively small, circular device (the Kickstarter page claims it is about the size of a hockey puck) that attaches to the handlebars of a bike. The companion smartphone app gives users access to all kinds of features, including activity tracking, navigation, security warnings, and more. The app connects to the device via Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE).

SmartHalo is constructed from military-grade materials, and the team behind it says that it secures to the bike with “tamper-proof screws,” meaning it won’t be easily stolen. On the top are low-energy LED lights that form a circle (there is also a single light in the center) around the edge. This makes the basis for the ring of light that gives the rider contextual directions, warnings, notifications for phone calls, and more. In addition, the device recognizes when your smartphone is out of range, and will sound an alarm if it detects excessive rattling of the bike. The SmartHalo team apparently thought of everything, including a morse code-esque tap pattern that the user can program into the device. If the alarm sounds, and the user’s smartphone is dead or out of range, they can just tap their pattern on SmartHalo to disable the alarm. Also built in is a smart night-light, which turns on automatically when the sun goes down, and turns off when the smartphone app is out of range to conserve power.

Probably one of them most interesting features is the navigation function of SmartHalo. Using the app, users can navigate to a location, and SmartHalo will provide directional lighting, including lights for turns and even u-turns. City bikers will especially enjoy this feature, since looking down at a smartphone every few seconds causes excessive distraction on busy city streets. The device is sporting a 2,000 mAh battery that can supposedly last at least three weeks on a charge, which will be a relief for bike owners who don’t want another device they have to charge every night. Of course, it has been weather-tested, since it will be kept outside most of the time.

SmartHalo has already been fully funded on KickStarter. After only three days, the project has hit over $100,000, doubling the $50,000 funding goal. The estimated delivery to backers is May 2016, which will be a long wait for some users. At the time of this article, the cheapest reward package available (that gets you a SmartHalo device) is the “$131 or more” package. Keep in mind that SmartHalo is not based in the U.S., so American backers will have to pay an extra $15 with that package, making it at least $146.

Source: SmartHalo KickStarter, Mashable 

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