Thumpata, thumpata, thumpata...

It's an answer to a question that no one - not even the ubiquitous Dr. Walter Crankset - has asked. Now, I can sorta see the gadget potential in using your cellular phone as a bike computer by using Bluetooth as a pickup device, but is it really necessary to add motorcycle sound effects? Some of us ride simply to enjoy the relative silence of traveling on a bicycle. Making my Bianchi sound like a Harley would, frankly, be rather embarrassing, sorta like wearing my old Triumph t-shirt while riding a Yamaha. (Though, for those of you who've seen Jack Nicholson's "Five Easy Pieces", there's huge significance in that t-shirt!)

If I feel a need to generate loud, rude noises while riding, I sing. Really.

SoundOfMotion.com Releases a Bicycle Computer Powered by a Mobile Phone with a Sound Bite

The SoundOfMotion.com's bicycle computer runs on a mobile device with Bluetooth for wireless connectivity to a uniquely designed sensor attached to a bicycle's wheel. One distinct safety feature of the device is a sound simulator. Cars and pedestrians often collide with cyclists because they can't hear them. Imagine, if your bicycle could sound like a Harley?

Vancouver, BC (PRWEB) April 23, 2007 -- SoundOfMotion.com, a division of Bass Object Technologies Inc., has just released a beta version of a cycle computer application for mobile phones. The application runs on any Java enabled mobile phone with Bluetooth for wireless connectivity to a specially designed sensor attached to a bicycle's wheel.

The beta program will allow early adopters to download application from SoundOfMotion.com to their mobile phones and test it with a wheel sensor simulator. The first 100 users to test it on each new mobile phone will receive a wireless sensor for their bicycles as a gift.

Hybrid cars are notoriously known to tangle with pedestrians and cyclists because of their silent electrical engines. As a hybrid driver, I constantly notice people crossing the street right in front of my car without realizing that car is moving.

Bicycling is becoming a more attractive way to commute in cities when gas prices are soaring, traffic jams are inevitable, pollution and obesity is out of control. Most cyclists carry their cell phone as a dead weight. With our technology they can turn their phones into an advanced cycle computer.

The unique Bluetooth wireless sensor is designed to detect micro-motion which is not possible with traditional spoke-attached sensors. This calculates speed, acceleration and distance traveled more accurately than traditional cycle computers. The data could also be stored and uploaded to a computer for training analysis.The mobile phone is positioned on a handle bar with a specially designed mounting base. It could also be connected to a dynamo, charging your phone while riding.

One distinct safety feature of the device is a sound simulator. Cars and pedestrians often collide with cyclists on busy streets because they just can't hear an approaching bicycle. Imagine, if your bicycle could sound like a Harley? You would definitely get their attention. On average, 750 bicycling fatalities and 50,000 injuries happen in US yearly, mainly during the daytime.

The sound simulation technology allows MP3 enabled phones to play various sound themes through a mini-amplifier, attached to the phone mounting base, according to the cyclist's speed and acceleration. Current sound themes simulate motorcycle, horse and steam train. Like ringtones, users could also compose their own sound themes, expressing their creativity with a sound of motion. Riders could easily control the sound volume without taking their hands off the handle bar.

The sound simulation patent-pending technology was inspired by the founder, Vladimir Savchenko, originally for hybrid cars. "Hybrid cars are notoriously known to tangle with pedestrians and cyclists because of their silent electrical engines. As a hybrid driver, I constantly notice people crossing the street right in front of my car without realizing that car is moving." After testing our sound simulation technology on bicycles we could see it also adopted by hybrid drivers.

The final product for bicycles is scheduled to be on the market this summer.

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