Inertial Sensor System for Cyclist Behavior and Road Quality Assessment
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Solution Overview
Problem
The management of bicycles in bike-sharing services is hindered by user damage and suboptimal cycle lane maintenance, which is often visually and empirically evaluated, leading to hazardous conditions for cyclists.
Innovation Solution
A system employing inertial sensors on bicycles to detect longitudinal, lateral, and vertical impacts, which correlates with cyclist behavior and road quality, allowing for the differentiation between user-induced damage and road conditions, enabling data analysis for behavior monitoring and road optimization.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If visual and empirical evaluations are used to monitor cycle lane conditions, then the monitoring method is simple and low-cost, but the detection precision and reliability of road quality assessment deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces visual and empirical evaluation methods with an inertial measurement system consisting of accelerometers and gyroscopes. This substitution transforms the monitoring approach from subjective human assessment to objective mechanical sensing, significantly improving measurement precision while keeping the device complexity manageable through the use of compact sensor modules.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary processing system that collects raw data from multiple sensors, filters noise, and translates complex sensor signals into meaningful road quality metrics. This intermediary layer handles the complexity of data processing, allowing the actual sensing components to remain relatively simple while achieving high assessment precision.
2Measurement precision
If inertial sensors are deployed on bicycles to detect impacts, then the measurement precision of cyclist behavior and road quality improves, but the device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent designs the inertial sensor system to serve multiple functions simultaneously: detecting cyclist behavior (impacts, falls, riding style), assessing road quality (potholes, bumps), and monitoring bicycle maintenance needs. This multi-functionality justifies the increased device complexity by delivering comprehensive data from a single integrated system rather than requiring separate specialized sensors for each function.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the sensor system into modular components (accelerometers, gyroscopes, processors) that can be independently optimized and calibrated. This segmentation allows each component to be relatively simple while the integrated system achieves high measurement precision through coordinated operation of multiple specialized sensors.
3Reliability
If comprehensive sensor data is collected to distinguish user-induced damage from road conditions, then the reliability of behavior monitoring improves, but the loss of information processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary calibration and baseline establishment during bicycle checkout, where normal riding patterns are recorded and stored as reference data. This preliminary action allows the system to quickly compare subsequent sensor readings against established baselines, reducing the time needed for real-time analysis while maintaining high reliability in distinguishing abnormal behaviors from normal variations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs feedback mechanisms where the system continuously compares current sensor readings with historical data and previously identified patterns. This feedback loop enables rapid classification of new events by matching them against known patterns, significantly reducing processing time while maintaining high reliability through iterative refinement of behavior classification.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system effectively identifies unsuitable cyclist behavior and road conditions, facilitating fines or incentives and improving cycle lane maintenance by providing data-driven insights for optimal path definition and road monitoring.
Implementation Method 1
one or more inertial sensors, to be applied on the bicycle itself and suitable for detecting the longitudinal acceleration Ax and/or the lateral acceleration Ay and/or the vertical acceleration Az
Implementation Method 2
A system employing inertial sensors on bicycles to detect longitudinal, lateral, and vertical impacts, which correlates with cyclist behavior and road quality
Data Source
AI summary
A system for estimating the behavior of a cyclist on a bicycle and/or of the quality of a road along a path followed by said bicycle, comprising: a sensor configured to detect the vertical acceleration of the bicycle and to supply a signal representative of the same; a module for estimating vertical impacts configured to: receive at the input the signal representative of the vertical acceleration for a determined time; acknowledge one or more first portions of the signal representative of the vertical acceleration, containing peaks due to vertical impacts, and one or more second portions of the signal representative of the vertical acceleration devoid of said peaks due to vertical impacts, wherein said one or more first portions of the signal representative of the vertical acceleration are indicative of the cyclist's behavior, and said one or more second portions of the signal representative of the vertical acceleration are indicative of the road quality.