Cyclists who load SoundofMotion’s VeloComputer software onto their mobile phone, coupled with a wireless sensor attached to their bicycle wheel, can transform their mobile phone into an advanced cycling computer. The highly accurate sensor transmits precise motion data to the software, which then displays spot speed, acceleration, time and distance traveled on the cell phone’s display. The data can also be downloaded to a computer for training analysis.
Interestingly enough, the idea behind SoundOfMotion was born thanks to hybrid cars and their silent engines. SoundOfMotion founders decided to create an electronic sound simulator which could produce a realistic simulation of motion with a sound and be customized with different sound themes. They quickly realized that not only hybrid cars pose a silent problem – bicycles are silent too. Though, they pose a lesser danger for pedestrians than hybrid cars but put cyclists at a disadvantage on busy streets.
One of the challenges was to create a highly sensitive, accurate, yet simple motion sensor. Traditional spoke-attached sensors take at least one full 360 degrees revolution of a wheel to detect motion. Which wouldn’t be good enough for reliable sound simulation – imagine hearing a breaking sound 5 seconds after you stop. The solution was to come up with new technology that measures as little as 1 degree of wheel motion – about 360 times more accurately than traditional cycling sensors.
But why use a mobile phone instead of a traditional cycling computer as a computing device? Because everybody has one. The result is the first Mobile Bicycle Computer – VeloComputerTM. While SoundOfMotion continues enhancing VeloComputer for mobile devices, they are also continuing work on sound simulation and safety devices for hybrid, electric, fuel cell and other alternative vehicles.