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Handhelds Hardware

BikeBrain - PalmPilot Based Bike computer 43

Posted by CmdrTaco from the what-is-this-excercise-thing-you-speak-of dept.
Wirehead writes "VeloTrend BikeBrain is a new class of bicycle computer that incorporates graphical displays, route directions, dynamic logging and smart features such as automatic wheel size calibration into a multi-use, hand-held and handlebar mounted computer. It is designed for use with 3Com's Palm series of personal organizers. " Cute. Although I suppose you have to go outside to use it.
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BikeBrain - PalmPilot Based Bike computer More

BikeBrain - PalmPilot Based Bike computer

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  • PalmPilot rugged enough for outdoors? (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Cool idea, but how well is a PalmPilot going to stand up to rain, mud, bumps, wiping out, etc.?

  • $90 Speedometer (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward
    $90 for the kit, not including the Pilot. I wish I had more money lying around for toys like this...

  • Couriers (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Link to either an onboard system, or link to cell phone and have yourself a nice turn by turn map for unfamiliar parts of the city. Have it log data on time taken vs. time of day and create smarter faster routes each time you use it.

  • Get A GPS Unit Instead (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Stupid idea. For $250 I can get a handheld
    GPS unit that has large built-in LCD display
    containing maps of the US, and can tell me
    my speed, location etc. etc. and is weather-
    proof, and you could actually walk
    around with it or hike with it.


  • Looks pretty interesting.. Don't know how rugged (or how expensive, eesh) this would be, but if I had the money..

    I think I'll just stick with my $20 Cateye Micro for now...
  • I hear you can get skin cancer if you go outside too much. Guess I won't have to worry about that.
  • Posted by korto:

    you mean we are supposed to put a palmtop on the bike?
    what if we fall? is the palmtop supposed to wear a helmet? or is he going to be like erwin when his palmtop became smashed?
  • Posted by jonrx:

    Well, it depends if your sensor is hooked on the front wheel or the back wheel. The back wheel will *always* travel shorter distance. (Hmmm maybe I should move my sensor to the back wheel, it should give more accurate readings. (in theory))

    jonr
  • Posted by Zyca:

    GPS have direction finding ability... so you CAN do without compass... (make sure you get the GPS that's fully ruggized to take the beating)...
  • And what happens if you do an endo? Or if it rains? I hope they have ruggedization options, as a "skin tight case" doesn't say much... :)

  • I have a bike computer on my bike, 7 functions, 2 buttons. And you know anything more complex would be bad. At 20-30 MPH down major city roads you just *CANT* have the distraction. I'm much to busy not getting hit by a bus.
    --Zachary Kessin
  • Can I take the Pilot out of the splash/shock cover thingy and use it for its normal use when I'm not on my bike?
  • I can think of a *very* good reason they didn't put an MP3 decoder on it: People who listen to stereo headphones while riding tend to end up being washed out of the treads of dumptrucks with a garden hose.
  • There's a Pilot app named Bikini which is dated June '97, IIRC. I have demo somewhere on my harddisk. BikeBrain is not a very novel idea.

    --Martin
  • This'd be neat if there was a database of singletrack trails available, maybe there is, of course sometimes the most fun is getting horribly lost while running low on Gatorade. I'd think that you'd probably mount this on a leg or something, and this opens up the market for heavy-duty 'Dolch [dolch.com]' style cases for the PalmPilot, they GOTTA be out there.


    And I think we killed the site. Wish my site was killed for once ;)


    500 Server Error
    The hard transfer limit for this user has been reached
  • You won't experience the /.-effect unless you have something cool on your site.
  • Anybody who's worked with mobile robots will tell you that wheel rotation counting tends to accumulate huge errors. When you start biking, you will probably be off by a few feet (since you can hardly start at the very same point every time), and every time you swerve to avoid a pothole, or take a wider/tighter turn, you will be accumulating more errors. Eventually, your measurments will be totally off.
    (will you swerve around 50 potholes during your ride? Easily. At 2ft error per pothole, you're looking at total 100ft error. That's considerable).

    What I would like to see is syncronizing odometry data with GPS. This way the odometry will fill in when you can't get GPS signal, and GPS will correct odometry errors.

    A dream gadget? How about a cellphone with a helmet-mounted headset and voice activated dialing? I have never done anything more dangerous than biking in traffic while talking on the phone.
    Me and my friends have this bike capture-the-flag game that is played over a large area (about 20x20 city blocks and a large park), and cellphones are my team's secret weapon!

    MaxZ
  • Unless you're Hans Rey, you mainly bike on weekends

    Doesn't anyone else use a bike for commuting? Sheesh, it's not difficult, it's inexpensive, as quick as a car (often quicker) and sets you up for the day.

    Don't know why anyone would want all that gadgetry on a bike, though. All it could to is add weight, rattle, fall off, get damaged in the rain, or get stolen. And eyes should be kept on the surroundings -- you'll run into them otherwise...
  • Totally cool would be if you cycle past another person with a 'Bike Brain' and it flashes the route they are taking to yours, or sends you a message or something. Saves you having to wave and exchange pleasantries with fellow passing cyclists!
  • GPS does work well in heavily forested areas. I was in the Superior National forest in Northern Minnessota with my GPS, a Magellan 4000XL that I spent 300 dollars on, and I was recieving signals frojm 8-10 satellites the whole time I was up there. BTW I still have a waypoint stored in my GPS of a nice lil clifftop in the Boundary Waters Canoe area.
  • Mountain bikes: I have no idea, I snub them.

    Hah! I have a track bike (no derailleurs, no brakes, no freewheel). Not only do I snub road bikes, but I snub most track bikes, because mine has inch pitch gears. So there. I love the looks of you modern day wonders when I say I ride a 7 in the back.

    --
  • From the FAQ:

    Q: What are the BikeBrain's unique features?
    A: Think of a cyclometer, now think ultimate! The VeloTrend BikeBrain includes,
    • Patented Route Directions feature
    • Route/Split recording
    • Speed recording
    • Real-time graphs of speed vs. time or distance
    • Automatic wheel calibration
    • Foolproof setup
    • Data upload to your PC or Mac for analysis and display

    And it's the world's best functioning and best selling hand-held computer!


    How can you patent a route directions finder? Isn't this just software or are they patenting the display? The automatic wheel calibration should be wheel diameter database included. I don't see anything automatic about selecting your wheel size.

    If I biked and had the money, this could be cool.

    ~afniv
    "Man könnte froh sein, wenn die Luft so rein wäre wie das Bier"
    "We could be happy if the air was as pure as the beer"
  • That site is apparently limited in their hits/bandwidth.... I'm curious how long it took them to reach the 50K hit limit after being /.ed.... This is the URL to their hosting page for those of you interested in a low traffic site :)

    http://www.best.com/services/hosting/
  • This is intended for serious sport bikers who need to know, for example, how well they did on this route compared to last time, not to mention up-to-the-minute info on how well they are DOING, so they can speed up or slack off as necessary. Also, this is the kind of info that is routinely available on gym exercise equipment, so anyone who prefers getting outside on their bike to sitting in a ho-hum gym should be interested.

    I know I am!

    (What a bunch of Luddites ....)
  • It's called "GPS receiver plus optional serial cable".

    I don't know the PalmPilot, but if it's worth its salt, it will have a serial port and can be programmed. The lingo that you should use to talk to your GPS is fairly well documented.

    Voila!

    --B
  • 500 Internal Server Error

    The hard transfer limit for this user has been reached.

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