MIT Media Lab | [Bike] Swarm @MITMediaLab | Uploaded June 2019 | Updated October 2024, 33 minutes ago.
As bikes navigate city streets after dark, they are often equipped with lights. The lights make the bikes visible to cars or other bikers, and the hazards of traffic less dangerous.
Imagine that as solitary bikes come together, their lights begin to pulsate at the same cadence. The bikers may not know each other, or may only be passing each other briefly, but for the moments they are together, their lights synchronize. The effect is a visually united presence, as groups of bikes illuminate themselves with a gently pulsing, collective light source.
We built this light system. We designed a synchronization protocol and algorithm, as well as physical prototypes that we fabricated and tested on our local city streets.
Our system is designed for deployment in a city, yet draws inspiration from nature.
More information at: https://www.media.mit.edu/projects/bike-swarm/overview/
Note: Video has no spoken audio. Music plays throughout.
As bikes navigate city streets after dark, they are often equipped with lights. The lights make the bikes visible to cars or other bikers, and the hazards of traffic less dangerous.
Imagine that as solitary bikes come together, their lights begin to pulsate at the same cadence. The bikers may not know each other, or may only be passing each other briefly, but for the moments they are together, their lights synchronize. The effect is a visually united presence, as groups of bikes illuminate themselves with a gently pulsing, collective light source.
We built this light system. We designed a synchronization protocol and algorithm, as well as physical prototypes that we fabricated and tested on our local city streets.
Our system is designed for deployment in a city, yet draws inspiration from nature.
More information at: https://www.media.mit.edu/projects/bike-swarm/overview/
Note: Video has no spoken audio. Music plays throughout.
![[Bike] Swarm](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/wUl-CHJ6DK0/hqdefault.jpg "[Bike] Swarm
As bikes navigate city streets after dark, they are often equipped with lights. The lights make the bikes visible to cars or other bikers, and the hazards of traffic less dangerous.
Imagine that as solitary bikes come together, their lights begin to pulsate at the same cadence. The bikers may not know each other, or may only be passing each other briefly, but for the moments they are together, their lights synchronize. The effect is a visually united presence, as groups of bikes illuminate themselves with a gently pulsing, collective light source.
We built this light system. We designed a synchronization protocol and algorithm, as well as physical prototypes that we fabricated and tested on our local city streets.
Our system is designed for deployment in a city, yet draws inspiration from nature.
More information at: https://www.media.mit.edu/projects/bike-swarm/overview/
Note: Video has no spoken audio. Music plays throughout.")
