For our midterm project, my group wanted to create something to help the blind. Upon further research we realized that if at any time we did come up with a good idea, it probably was reached much earlier by some lucky designer. So scratch that plan... We set out on a journey through the great wilderness of invention, locked ourselves in an abandoned ITP classroom (it was Columbus Day, after all) and began to write down any terms and ideas we could find. After much deliberation, we decided to design a solar powered, LED bike reflector. The concept is really quite simple, but I'll lay out the initial problem for you anyway:
You are riding your bike in the early evening before the sun sets. As you ride, the sky gets darker and darker, but since you are in a rush to get home, you don't think to turn on your battery powered flashing bike reflector. In this case, cars cannot see you riding the bike in the dark, and you are placing yourself at a major risk of getting run over. What can you do about this?
Well, what if the reflector could sense the amount of light around you, and based on a simple program, turn on flashing LEDs in the reflector without any help from you, the bike rider. What could make this better? How about charging the battery in the smart reflector by solar power?
Here's the plan (see attached picture)
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