Baby Boomers are a part of the population that is increasingly taking up cycling as an easy to maintain physical fitness routine which is also environmentally friendly. However, cyclists are a part of road traffic that is most prone to getting into accidents due to common misunderstandings on the road. Since most cyclists still rely on primitive hand gestures to signal when they have to make a turn, or when they are traveling in a group, they tend to publicize their riding intentions but yelling “slowing” or “turning.”
Though this method is an effective way of letting others on the road know what a cyclist is about to do next in light traffic conditions, road noise, low light and heavy traffic conditions makes such signals less visible/audible for motorists and other cyclists on the road. The problem becomes even starker for cyclists from the baby boomer age group since they can’t yell out as loudly as younger cyclists.
To counter the problem of cyclists’ visibility and to make their intentions of turning/slowing clearer to other motorists or cyclists on the despite variable traffic conditions, designer Douglas Schaller has come up with the Luminelo Illuminated Cycling Communication concept that can provide visual safety for cyclists of all age groups. More effective than the bright yellow jackets, hand signals and yelling, the visual communication provided by Luminelo can curb cycling related death and injury.
To effectively communicate the intentions of as cyclist, a matrix of small LEDs is used in conjunction with other up and coming technologies like stretchable circuits to make the jersey a high visibility product. a better solution than tail lights on a bike, the Luminelo provides visibility to the rider in low light and the glowing LED help other people know when a cyclist wants to turn and stop.
Since the dynamic and illuminated jersey is worn on the cyclist’s person and features the lights and signals on the wearer’s back that is situated at the eye level of motorists and can also be easily spotted by other cyclists on the road. In comparison to the small tail lights and other signals that are fitted on the frame of the cycle, the Luminelo Illuminated Cycling Communication provides a more actively visible means of communication to the cyclists. For visibility, the outward facing part of the shoulder, the thigh, wrist and the back of the jersey are fitted with visible signals and LEDs and eliminate the need to use other primitive means of communication.
Source: Douglas Schaller