Technology | Traffic Nightmare

Have you imagined a platform full of free courses on mobility to have the opportunity to become an expert? It exists on Urban Mobility Courses (UMC) by EIT Urban Mobility and the European Union.

At the time of writing this post, it contained 36 online courses, from basic to intermediate level and two or more hours of duration. The access to the courses and materials is free. They use videos and articles in refeence media and if you want to obtain the certificate there is the need of paying less than 10 euros. This way you can show them off and use in your resumé.

Regarding urban cycling, there are six courses made by experts such as Georg Liu and Lior Steinberg.

The eight fields in which to specialize are:

A stronger, accessible, high-quality public transport system
Enhanced options for active mobility like walking and cycling
Better management of mobility flows through digital solutions
Multimodal stations and hubs that connect all modes of transport
Streamlined urban logistics, last-mile delivery, and consolidation centers
Zero-emission vehicles and high availability of recharging points
Efficient on-demand and shared mobility services
Effective local policies and measures discouraging individual car use

Internet of things (IoT) describes physical objects (or groups of such objects) with sensors, processing ability, software, and other technologies that connect and exchange data with other devices and systems over the Internet or other communications networks, according to Wikipedia. Engineers and technologists have developed IoT over the last years and its future is promising. Bicycles could not fall behind.

Some common targets of IoT in bikes (smartbikes) consider security, satisfaction and user fidelity to transform mobility towards a more sustainable paradigm. E-bikes are equipped with geolocation, instant statistics of rides, remote alarms and anti_theft, messages advising that a mechanical check is needed and online maintenance of some bike parts. Hardware and software cooperate to offer new functionalities and experiences. But not all IoT in bikes is offered to the final user, some companies sell it to manufacturing firms that do not have such proper, specific engineers.

Where is this hardware installed? It depends on the manufacturer. In some cases it is located inside the handlebar whereas in some others in the bicycle frame or even in the rear rack.

On the other hand, more and more data is collected from these devices which allow companies to optimize marketing, among others, to offer bikers what they desire.