Custom Bicycle Light
The mechanical portion of the project involved designing a water-proof case that housed all of the electronics, maximized light output and visibility, allowed for user input, charging, and easy mounting to a bicycle. Prototypes were resin 3D printed and assembled with the electronics. The geometry was validated for large-scale manufacturing with injection molding simulations. Read more...
The software portion of the project involved programming the iOS app to customize and monitor the light remotely and detect bicycle crashes; the firmware running on the light PCB board to control the lights, monitor sensors, and communicate over Bluetooth; and the database for storing and analyzing any detected bicycle crashes. Read more…
The motivation behind this project arose after countless bike rides where I would have to strategically turn on and off my dying bike light to ensure I would be visible on the more dangerous parts of my route home. The bike light I was using at the time had little to no indication of when it was low on charge, when it would be fully charged at home, and no customization for extending battery life by dimming the lights. Instead of buying a $200 light that solved all my problems and more, I decided to design and make my own light from scratch. I probably spent more money and time doing it the hard way, but I learned a lot of skills along the way.
The electrical portion of the project involved designing a PCB board that managed the Bluetooth microcontroller, programming, power management, battery charging and monitoring, and various sensors. The PCB board was hand assembled and an additional USB breakout board was made in-house for charging. Read more…
