Helios Smart Handlebars Feature Turn-By-Turn Directions

The Bay Area Maker Faire is full of clever bike designs?bikes with monstrous back wheels, bikes crafted of solid wood, bikes made to look like a pencil on wheels. But here's one that could transform your own two-wheeler: the smart handlebars by Helios.

The design is simple and clean: a sleek set of handlebars that can attach to most bikes with two LEDs facing backward and one in the center facing forward. The forward-facing LED pumps out a brilliant 500 lumens to keep you visible on the road.

The backward-facing lights, meanwhile, are multitalented. For one, they act as turn signals?push the button for right or left and the appropriate light will signal to traffic trailing you. Because the Helios bars are equipped with a GPS module and Bluetooth connectivity, users can use Google maps to program their route and the two LEDs will provide a simple version of turn-by-turn directions, blinking to tell the rider a turn is upcoming. The LEDs are also speedometers, changing color depending upon the bike's velocity. And, of course, the embedded GPS will allow you to track your bike (unless a thief knows enough to swap out the handlebars).

We got to see a demo of all these capabilities at Maker Faire this weekend. By the end of the year you could be able to see them for yourself: The guys at Helios launched their Kickstarter today, and, as of this writing, have gotten to nearly $17,000 of their $70,000 goal. Early bird donors can grab a set of Helios bars for $150. The group plans to deliver the bars in December.

Source: http://www.popularmechanics.com/how-to/blog/helios-smart-handlebars-feature-turn-by-turn-directions-15500447?src=rss

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