Multifunctional Bicycle Helmet Using Internet of Things Technology

This paper presents a bicycle safety helmet with a variety of novel functions based on Internet of Things (IoT) technologies: (1) LED direction indicators triggered by a three-axis accelerometer to sense the rider tilting his/her head in the desired direction; (2) LED light bars circling the helmet triggered by a photodetector to provide illumination or to act as a flashing safety beacon; (3) a keypad based on ceramic pressure sensors to input the password for the bicycle lock with Bluetooth for transmission; (4) ultrasonic sensors to detect vehicles approaching from the rear with a mechanism to alert the rider; (5) wireless connectivity to transmit GPS positioning information, including UTC time, longitude and latitude, altitude, horizontal dilution of precision (HDOP), and the number of connected satellites to a cloud server. We also created a software package accessible via a web server or mobile app to query the current location and route.