Another day, another Kickstarter project. This one has potential though. It’s the FAST light, and doubles up as an anti-theft and crash detection device, as well as offering customisable lighting patterns via a smartphone app.

The FAST’s biggest benefit (as well as actually being a light) is that it can send a distress signal if you have an accident, and then send GPS data to an emergency contact. It can also be used as an anti-theft device. Any sudden movements will send an alert to your smartphone. There have been a few products launched in recent years that offer similar functionality, such as the Cycliq Fly12.

Fed up with the limited number of lighting modes on a regular LED light? FAST has your concerns covered. The lighting modes can be customised using a smartphone app, available on Android and iOS, so you can design your own flash pattern and change the colour – though as rear lights need to be red your creativity is probably best limited to the flashing pattern. The inventors claim the multiple LEDs offer 16 million colour choices though.

The FAST light is clever too. It can detect low levels of light and automatically power up. The FAST light has a 30 lumen output and a battery life of up to 60 days in standby mode, down to 10 hours on solid mode, the brightest of the available settings. The lithium polymer battery is charged via a USB port, with charge time a claimed 2-hours. It’s a compact light, measuring 75x39x29mm and weighing a claimed 39g.

The FAST creators are seeking $20,000 funding and so far have raised $7,912 from 120 backers, with 35 days to go. It looks good for them reaching their goal, we’ll track this story and update you if they’re successful. And provided they reach their funding target, they aim to deliver product in November 2015. Currently an early bird bid will get you a FAST light for just $19. The retail price will be $39. 

Find out more at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/64558910/fast-tail-light-protects-you-from-bike-falls-and-t/description