Movies have brought forward many ideas on how vehicles of our age would look like. From flying cars to hoverboards, today’s mode of transportation looked marvelous in those films. Today, we don’t have such a different situation. Sure, the design of vehicles is better and more performant, but only in the past few years we’ve started seeing innovations like AI-driven cars becoming widespread.
What about bicycles? While their designs have evolved over the years to match the modernization of cars, they haven’t seen the same level of widespread innovation. Car manufacturers have more incentives to innovate and add smart features because cars are drastically more expensive than bikes. Think of how a car from 50 years ago looks against one today. The same does not apply to bikes.
But where there’s a lack of innovation, there’s opportunity. Recently, Acer announced the release of its new e-bike, ebii. It promises to provide an enjoyable and effortless ride through its AI vehicle control box and ebiiAssist function. This function adapts to the rider’s route, pedaling power, and preferences for a smoother journey.
Modernizing the bicycle
You cannot have 100% AI-driven bikes and keep the design of a bike as human pedaling is an essential part of it. The AI solves this by adjusting the motor to the user, providing up to 25km/h assisted riding. Using machine learning to continually personalize the experience, ebii essentially moves the pedals up to what the user is comfortable with giving the feeling of riding a normal bike.
The Acer ebii’s companion app, ebiiGO, is an essential part of the e-bike’s smart features. Users can conveniently connect their smartphones to the e-bike via Bluetooth, giving them greater command over their ride. On top of that, the vehicle has features to improve the rider’s safety and convenience. This includes automatic headlights and taillights when riding in low-light settings, additional lighting for better visibility during nighttime rides, a rear proximity sensor that alerts the rider of nearby objects, and a battery pack that can charge other devices while on the move.
We have yet to see the advanced vehicles once envisioned in those movies. However, the Acer ebii could be another step towards a new era for e-bikes. At the same time, smart cars continue to gain popularity. All we have to do is sit back and watch the future of vehicles come to reality.
Photo credits: The images shown are owned by Acer and were made available for press usage.
