LYON, France (BRAIN) — Vélo Capital Partners, an investment group that has been studying the international bike market for several years, is launching a company, called véliSo, offering several technologies that combined would produce what the company calls "the world's safest bicycle."
The technologies include electronic anti-lock braking, a 360-degree warning system, automatic emergency braking, and automatic electronic tire pressure management. The company wants to bring the technologies to the OE market, but is initially launching a Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign that would give consumers an opportunity to obtain the technology directly.
Vélo Capital Partners is owned and managed by Patrick Keating, an American now based in France who has worked with several investment firms in the U.S. and Europe. "Since 2012 we've been focused on innovation in the global cycling industry," Keating said in a statement this week. "In 2015 we decided to form véliSo to focus on solving the problems we identified in Cycling 4.0 with intelligent solutions. These problems require advanced technology with a convergence of electronics, software and telecommunications driven by advanced algorithms."
The company calls the technology package the Mirage ARAS and it calls its bike that incorporates the features the véliSo V-1. ARAS stands for "Advanced Riding Assistance System," a variation on the Advanced Driving Assistance System concept used in the auto industry.
Keating spoke about the project's concepts at the Smart Cycling Conference held during Eurobike this year.
"Of course, this campaign and chance to be the first to obtain this advanced technology will appeal to the consumer market. But, véliSo intends to become mainly an OEM Tier 1 supplier of intelligent solutions," Keating said. "So, this campaign will give the global cycling industry a view of the next generation in advanced technology and validation of the market for it."
There is more information on the technology at veliso.bike. The Indiegogo campaign is at indiegogo.com/projects/making-cycling-safer.
