This week our group needed to refine the criteria and constraints and problem scope.
Constraints and Criteria
Problem Scope
Our goal is to create a bike safety system that helps bike riders:
Avoid getting hit by vehicles at intersections and when they merge onto lanes, typically at right hand turns
Signal to drivers in a manner in which they can recognize
Improve blind spot shoulder visibility
Constraints
The the biker should be alerted when a car is within 1.5 meters in an intersection. This is based on the law that “when passing a cyclist, drivers are required to maintain a minimum distance of one meter where practical between their vehicle and the cyclist” (Safety Guide for Cyclists, City of Toronto).
The solution should still allow the bike to be rideable - full range of motion of handles, breaks and pedals.
The bike signaling system should be seen by car riders that are 15 m behind the bike.
The safety system must be operational for at least 30 min (at least 1 charge per longest ride)
Weight: Components should not be large that it will impede the rider and weight should be limited to 5 lbs.
Archive
Needs to be durable: ex. withstand vibrations, bumps, weather conditions
Criteria
Minimize cost
Physical design:
Least amount of mounted components and parts (prefer less complexity in this area)
Least amount of mechanical complexity
Output of system:
Level of distraction done to the cyclists (interaction time)
Ability to notify stakeholders (notify biker and driver or only one?)
Latency of signalling and alert system.
Inputs:
Number of sensors - want to minimize
Sensor Characterization
Sensor complexity
User Interaction
Risk of injury during collision (sharp parts)
Response Time:
How early intersection collision system detects an issue
How little the cyclist needs to do to avoid a collision
Connectivity
Compatible/connectivity with other biking tools/sensors (power meters, gps, phone etc.), a phone and apps
Environmental
Adaptable and can be used in different environmental conditions (night, fog, rain etc.)
Ability for sensors to work during day and night
Heat endurance
Weather durability
Adaptability to different environments (under bridge)
Data
Depth of information captured through driver awareness system
Number of types of threats detected
Number/accuracy of dangerous situations detected
Statistics gathered (speed etc)
Data required for algorithm - algorithm compatibility
Archived Criteria
Range of display of lights
Compactness, ease of instalment
Modularity (Compatible on multiple bikes)
Difficulty to maintain bike with parts on (can you change bike parts with the system attached)
Degree of visibility (system standpoint) what’s the system’s field of view sensor wise