EDGE SPROUT, a startup incubator at Ritsumeikan University has proposed a groundbreaking new bicycle brake system - The ANSHiN Brake System for Cyclists – as part of a business plan focusing on the recent upward trend in children’s bicycle accidents. The group aims to create not just a system for preventing accidents, but also a bicycle-friendly community wherein anyone feels they can ride in safety.

Focusing on reaction distance when braking, or the distance traveled between when a cyclist removes his or her hand from the grip until he or she squeezes the brakes, the development team created a brake assist system that triggers a magnetic brake the moment a cyclist releases his or her hand after sensing danger. The installation of the system led successfully to a reduction in the distance traveled by a bicycle until it came to a full stop.

Not content to stop there, however, the development team took this success one stage further by introducing extra features to the Internet of Things (IoT)-driven smart grip.

Mounted on the bicycle, it also collects data such as braking time, location information, and speed - storing it in the cloud.

The group expects that transforming this information into big data and providing analysis of it will not only enable the visualization of dangerous road areas, but also facilitate new business opportunities – offering two examples: a) the creation of a data business based on providing information on where accidents are occurring, and b) a service aimed at protecting juvenile and elderly cyclists.

The business plan calls for the use of volume licensing and proposes working with a major manufacturer to produce the system on a contract basis. The eventual aim is to sell rent-a-cycles equipped with the system and create a think tank to analyze the data collected from cyclists. The group is currently conducting demonstration tests and has applied for a patent. It has also started the process of establishing itself as a corporation.

The results were announced in the form of a presentation by team member Hayato Tomisu of the College of Life Sciences at the Shiga New Business Plan Contest – an event sponsored by Shiga Prefecture, held at the Biwako-Otsu Prince Hotel November 17.

EDGE SPROUT: Aiming to create a new world

EDGE SPROUT is a group of students from the Colleges of Science and Engineering, Life Sciences, and Business Administration at Ritsumeikan University who are interested in entrepreneurship and innovation; it is an offshoot of the Ritsumeikan University EDGE +R Program, a program that aims to cultivate innovation architects.

Co-CEO of the ANSHiN Brake System Project
Hayato Tomisu is currently a third-year student in the Department of Biological Engineering of the College of Life Sciences at Ritsumeikan University, specializing in the field of biotechnology, including gene modification and brewing. He also serves as Head Mentor for Sustainable Week, a student-led event at Ritsumeikan University that focuses on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). By spreading the word of the SDGs throughout Shiga and working to create businesses that involve the local community from his base at the university, he hopes to create venues for new people to come together and utilize in positive ways.

Source: Weekly ASCII.
Brake system developed by Ritsumeikan University’s Edge Sprout will change the history of the bicycle
(in Japanese)