Updated: Byxee pothole detector seeks crowd funding

A video device called Byxee that warns you of holes, bumps and obstacles in the road ahead will seek funding on Indiegogo next month. 

Byxee uses a video camera to scan the road ahead of you and detect possible hazards. When it spots something, the Byxee emits an audio alarm, giving you time to take appropriate action to avoid damage to either yourself or your bike. You get one beep for low danger, two beeps for medium danger, and three beeps for high danger.

You can set the Byxee to scan anywhere from 15 to 25 metres ahead. If you’re riding at 25km/h (16.6mph), for example, you’ll cover 25 metres in 3.6 seconds. If you’re riding at 15km/h (9.4mph) you’ll cover 25 metres in 6 seconds. That’s the amount of time you’ll have to hear the signal and react.

The Italian designers say that the Byxee stays silent when you’re in a group of cyclists and starts scanning when the road ahead is open.

“Byxee concept is the consequence of bad injuries and very expensive bike repairs I had to face when [I fell off] my bicycle because of a pothole on the road,” says Byxee inventor Riccardo Ricci (not to be confused with former racer Riccardo Ricco).

“Together with my team we develop digital detection algorithms used all over the world. We now dedicate our effort and know-how to develop a device for cyclists using our intelligent vision technology.”

The Byxee has seven sensitivity settings and two different scan settings: narrow field and large field. It measures 9cm x 4cm x 2.5cm and weighs 70g. The battery life is a claimed 35h and it’s USB rechargeable.

Byxee's Indiegogo campaign starts on 18 May. The retail price will probably be US$250-270, but prices on Indiegogo will start from US$140.

For more info go to www.byxee.com