Final Report

Intelligent Bicycle Light System

Group member: Jianqiao Xiao, Kausik Venkat, Yupeng Yang

Introduction

     If a car follows you in the evening, you will notice it immediately since it has very strong headlight and a comprehensive light system around it.

    If a plane follows you in the evening (though quite impossible), you may notice it hundreds of meters away since its strong flickered light may blind you in a sudden exposure.

    When you comfortably sit in your car heading home one night, you suddenly see a dark shade just a few inches in front of you, with full brakes on, a collision is avoided yet the shade may be surprised that you did not see him. And it is true, he is a man in black riding his black bicycle.

    It is then when you see a tiny little red spot on his bike–the light! It is always bright, as bright as the bicycle.

Our Goal

Here in Champaign, bicycles are popular yet not so safe, especially at night. People have their flickered headlights and a small rear light. However, if you actually see a person in bike, you are just a few meters from him. Even though there are currently flickered lights, they are not in a system–inconvenience comes from the separate parts of the lights: you need to install them and turn them on separately. We are now considering a true light "system". The lights around the bike are integrated with each other and only one button (in fact no button) control the entire system. Sensors make the system more intelligent–knowing whether it is daytime or at night; knowing whether you are riding or parking your bike. You do not need to worry about not being seen any more, just enjoy your ride!

Our General Plan

Three main parts are designed in the circuit to control the lights separately. Photoelectric sensor is designed as a switch of the entire circuit. During daytime, when sunlight is present, the photoelectric sensor will shut down the circuit. During night time the entire circuit is powered. With pressure sensor, the lights are turned off when nobody is on the bike and turned on when someone is sitting on the seat. The main circuit will produce a impulsive current to make the light flicker which is more easy to be noticed by drivers and pedestrians during night. The circuit will be designed with basic elements (such as transistors and capacitors) so that we learn the usage of those elements.