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LIDAR proof of concept yields promise

8/11/2015

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After a hectic couple of weeks, I was finally able to get the new LIDAR prototype installed on my bike to take it out for it's first test ride this weekend. And it worked! Not perfectly of course, still a lot of things to iron out, but the proof of concept definitely shows promise. This is the latest ranging LIDAR prototype, complete with both visual and audio alerts - an LED display and audio blips when new objects come into range.

Taking the bike out on Valencia St in SF on Sunday afternoon, I was able to "see" other bicyclists behind me as well cars as they would approach up on my left side (riding in a bike lane). The visual range of the sensor was well beyond that of the ultrasonic system,and was able to provide clarity between a bicyclist riding behind me and a car approaching from behind (on the left) all at the same time. I was a little worried that the constant jostling of the bicycle while traveling over the street would disrupt the LIDAR sensor from working effectively (all the prior tests were with the sensor stationary), but the system worked just fine.

I just got a new GoPro and will shoot some footage of the new bike radar system in action as soon as I can (handy little cameras, I tell ya). In the meantime, here are a couple photos of it installed on my bicycle in my neighborhood after the test ride.
velalert bike radar proof of concept - LED display
velalert bike radar LIDAR sensor in a Companion Bike Seat
There's still a lot of work to be done to even get this functional prototype dialed in to be useful for cyclists ... getting the "refresh rate" of the LIDAR sensor perfectly timed, getting the software and the audio dialed in, not to mention all the design work on look-and-feel. Lots more to be done, but making real progress now.
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Updated bike radar proof-of-concept ready for testing

7/18/2015

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When I brought the bike-seat-based LIDAR prototype home for testing earlier this month, I ran into a bit of a snag: the servo had stopped working. Apparently during transport a wire had wrapped around the servo and snapped one of the gears when it was turned on. I was unfortunately unable to do any testing with it, and had to bring it back to the shop for repairs.

In addition to the servo being replaced, the software was rewritten to further clean up the accuracy of the LED board and the audio chirps. Even the LIDAR sensor has a reasonable amount of "noise" to clean up to make sure there aren't any false positives with the system. 

This latest bike radar proof-of-concept was finally finished up this week and is ready to bring home for some testing out on the road! Here's a demonstration video by the Radicand guys:
More to come soon on how it holds up once I've taken it out for a ride in traffic.
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Alert -sound demonstration with the second prototype

7/4/2015

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Radicand finished up the second prototype this week and sent over a video demonstrating the new audio alert feature added to this prototype to pair with the visual display on the handlebars. This is a LIDAR system set up on a rotating servo, installed into a Companion Bike Seat as a proof-of-concept. As objects get closer to the sensor, the screen will light up. When things start to approach too closely, it will start chirping to let you know that you might need to react.

I'll be picking up this prototype tomorrow and bringing it home for some testing out on the road!
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Progress with the LIDAR prototype

6/10/2015

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We got the LIDAR sensor on the servo plugged up to the LED board today to start taking the data from this new sensor and displaying it for testing purposes.

The LIDAR sensor provides much more accurate data than did the ultrasonic sensor, which is great. And the range is much longer as well. However, when the sensor isn't moving, it can only detect things in a very narrow range (directly in front of it).  Today, we were not only able to prove that the LIDAR sensor works at the distances we're aiming for with Velalert bicycle radar, but also that we're able to sweep the LIDAR sensor and expand the range of visibility to a broader angle. 
Velalert LIDAR prototype that looks like Johnny Five from Short Circuit
The sensor (on the servo) is shown in the photo above. The first video below shows the LED board lighting up as the car approaches, with the sensor stationary. The second video shows the servo in action, with the LED board showing three distinct data sets, one from each position of the sensor.
Next, we're going to install this latest proof-of-concept into a Companion Bike Seat (which ends up being perfect for this prototype) and take it out for some road-testing!
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LIDAR servo test looks like Johnny Five

6/8/2015

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Based on the results with the first prototype, we decided to shift focus to the LIDAR sensor. It has a much longer range and a lot more accurate visibility than the ultrasonic sensor. The challenge is that it's a very narrow beam, and I want to provide a broader range of visibility for the rider than a single point directly behind. Rather than adding more expensive sensors to the system, we aim to solve this problem using only one LIDAR sensor. This is a video of the first explorations into expanding the broadness of visibility of the sensor, in this case attaching the LIDAR onto a servo pointing in three different directions.

Remember Johnny Five from the movie Short Circuit? The resemblance is striking I'd say ...
The challenge here is being able to turn the data received from the sensor into a two-dimensional picture based on the known timing of the shifts in position on the servo. Once we're able to successfully do that with this version taking three different angles, we can extrapolate this into the proper number of positions for the sensor to do a complete sweep across a broad enough angle to provide adequate range in visibility and very clean data for Velalert.
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Taking the first functional prototype out for a spin

6/2/2015

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rear sensor of the first Velalert prototype
I took the ultrasonic bike radar prototype out for its first test drive this weekend and admittedly got mixed results from it. The prototype didn't function at all as expected, though the experience was still fruitful in providing direction for where we need to focus our efforts. I've learned that these things are all too common when prototyping something new.

This first prototype was not able to help me out at all in terms of increasing awareness of the other bicyclists and cars around me. I took Velalert for a ride up and down Valencia St in SF and had numerous cyclists pass me from behind as well as cars come up on the side, and in both cases I had no idea until they were in view (or heard the car engine). Disappointing for sure, but we've got a lot of great ideas on how to address this and are diving head first back into new sensor development.
Despite the sensor not working at all as hoped for, the usability testing was still incredibly valuable for helping to visualize the product in use, what it needs to do, and how that can be communicated to the rider.

First off, it can't be startling or something that pulls your eyes off the road. It needs to immediately communicate how far an object is and what direction it's approaching in a single glance. And it needs to use sound to alert the rider of something new, to prompt a quick glance at the panel to learn more.

I now have some very clear ideas on what and how the alert panel (mounted on the handlebars) will communicate to the rider. As we make progress with the sensors, we'll incorporate these new ideas into the next prototype and share them as soon as we have something to show!
alert panel of the first Velalert prototype
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Bringing the first ultrasonic prototype home

5/30/2015

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I picked up the first functional prototype of Velalert bicycle radar on Thursday of this week and brought it home for some testing over the weekend. We did a little testing at Radicand before loading it up to see how sensitive it was. It worked very well out to about 15 feet or so, but beyond that distance the prototype became a little "erratic" (extraneous blips). We're aiming for a much broader visibility range for Velalert, but I am still going to take this prototype out for some rides to get a sense for the front screen and how best to communicate information while riding along in traffic.
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Here are a couple short videos I shot of the ultrasonic radar prototype in action. The first is indoors and the second is outdoors on the street outside Radicand. It's a little hard to see but the LEDs on both the rear sensor and the front screen increase as an object gets closer to sensor. Outside we simulated an approaching car by running up behind the bike with a board in hand.
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First prototype almost ready for testing

5/24/2015

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I brought my bike down to Radicand on Friday this week because we had every intention of installing the ultrasonic radar prototype onto my bike for some initial testing. We want to get this first functional prototype up and running as quickly as possible so we can get it out onto the road and really understand what types of information is most helpful while riding and what the best way is to communicate that information.

Here are some pictures of both the radar sensor and the handlebar unit plugged in on the work-bench. 
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After playing around with the prototype for a bit, the engineers decided they needed another couple of hours to get things dialed in and ready for installation onto my bike. We planned on meeting the following day, but then the microprocessor got fried somehow and needs to be replaced.

Bummer that it'll be another week or so waiting for the new microprocessor to arrive, especially since this holiday weekend would have been perfect to get in some good rides testing out the prototype. Such is life developing new products. 
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First sensor prototype in action

5/19/2015

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The first prototype is almost fully assembled! Shown here is the ultrasonic sensor mounted in the temporary (prototype) casing with LEDs wrapped around the edge, lighting up as objects get closer to the radar sensor. This will be mounted to the seat-post of the bicycle facing backward, with an additional unit mounted to the handlebars for initial testing. 
In the video, we're using an Arduino board (temporarily) while working on getting a Teensy board set up properly for the ultrasonic radar sensor. The goal right now is to have it ready on Friday before the long weekend so I can take Velalert out for its first test drive!
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First Velalert Prototype is Almost Complete

5/13/2015

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I met up with the Radicand team today to check in on the prototype progress and got to see the 3D-printed casings for the radar sensor and for the handlebar unit. We got a new, smaller board to use for this prototype, and it didn't work quite the same as the Arduino board, so the prototype wasn't ready to install onto my bicycle just yet. However, if everything goes well, I'll be strapping this prototype onto my bicycle mid next week and will be able to take the first Velalert prototype out for a spin!
velalert first prototype

On the left is the radar sensor that will attach onto the seat post of the bicycle, facing backward. The sensor is in the middle and there is a ring of LEDs around the sensor that will alert any oncoming vehicles that I'm there. 

On the right is the handlebar unit that will let me know when vehicles are coming up behind me and how close they are. It's a string of LEDs that will light up based on how close the oncoming object is.

More to come next week!
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