Cycling is increasingly popular amongst city commuters as a cheap, healthy and environmentally-friendly alternative to public transport and driving. Campaigns including Get Britain Cycling [1] and British Cycling’s #ChooseCycling [2] are trying to encourage even more of us to travel to work on two wheels. Despite the various benefits of cycling, the reality of busy rush-hour traffic, impatient drivers and poor cycling infrastructure means that it can be a dangerous way to travel. This deters many people from cycling. Although only 2% of all journeys in the UK are made by cyclists, in 2016, for every billion miles cycled, there were 5,353 accidents and 29.5 deaths, which is significantly higher compared to car drivers with 262 accidents and 2 deaths per billion miles travelled [3].
A few cities, such as Copenhagen, have done major works in improving city infrastructure for cyclists. However, such infrastructure, (e.g. bike lines) would take a long time to implement, therefore in the meantime, it is ideal to execute a solution quickly. The market is currently filled with many products for cyclists, such as bike turn indicators, laser bike lanes, as well as various wearable tech like inflatable helmets. Although, most common accidents are caused by other car drivers not seeing cyclists and poor road surface [4].
Your task is to design a device that will improve safety of cyclists on the road. Due to the large number of current tech available, you will need to research and evaluate the competition to find a profitable niche. Is there a gap in the market that cyclists would want to buy? Can you design the product that convinces Britain to ChooseCycling? Alternatively could you design a technology that can be quickly implemented onto current road infrastructure that may be of interest to local councils? Regardless of the solution, you must show the design is feasible, reliable, sustainable and fully costed.
With any successful product, the developers are mindful of their target audience. Who is the product aimed at, and what will make a desirable, useful and ultimately, profitable design? You should carry out research to identify an appropriate target audience. You might want to look into cyclist demographics – which age and gender are the most cyclists, and are any group more at risk of traffic accidents? Are there certain situations or locations where cyclists are more prone to accidents? You may choose to focus on location/city.
With a multitude of gadgets already available online, you must ensure that you understand necessary aspects of intellectual property and patenting related to these devices. You are expected to thoroughly research competing devices, and show how your gadget fills a gap in the market.
The device that you design must be suited for road cycling in the UK; you should consider its durability and usability in all weather conditions. For instance, tiny buttons are difficult to operate in the dark and cold.
A technology that would be implemented onto current road systems must cause as little disruption as possible and must work alongside current infrastructure.
Your chosen design needs to be fully costed. Is the target audience, whether it be induvial consumer or local council, willing to pay that much?
In this current climate it is important to ensure your design/gadget is sustainable. Therefore it must last long, not be wasteful and use sustainable materials.
[1] Gov UK, "The core Aims of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Cyling and Walking." Allpartysyling.org. https://allpartycycling.org/ (Accessed: 16- Nov- 2018).
[2] British Cycling, "It’s time to choose cycling." British Cycling. https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/campaigning/article/cam20140206-Campaigning---Choose-cycling-0 (Accessed: 16- Nov- 2018).
[3] Tom Batchelor, “Cyclists are 15 times more likely than drivers to be killed on UK roads - but the public debate paints a different story,” in the Independent, Oct. 17, 2017. Available: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/cycle-safety-laws-new-kim-briggs-death-warning-against-witch-hunt-a7960291.html
[4] www.accidentclaimsadvice.org.uk, “Common Causes of Cycling Accidents.” Accident Claims Advice. https://www.accidentclaimsadvice.org.uk/common-causes-of-cycling-accidents/ (Accessed: 15-May-2020).