Elevator pitch:
It’s your bike’s better half. It knows you, your bike, and the city you live in. It offers you a seamless and enriched riding experience through giving you turn by turn directions, tracking your behavior, advising you on how to take care of your bike, and suggesting you destinations and routes that suit your taste.
Intended audience:
Intermediate riders
People currently biking in the city. They might already use navigational tools like bike maps and apps, and are searching for new ways to make their trips more seamless whether they want to get from A to B or wander.
Beginner riders
There’s a difference between knowing how to ride a bike, and being confident riding in an urban environment. Beginner riders might use their bike for recreational trips and are not yet convinced that biking can be a viable transit option.
Tourists on bikes
People that want to explore a new city from the bike seat. Might rent bikes from bike shops, or using bike share programs.
Context of project:
The bike community
Open Plans
Bike sharing program
Ride the City
Transportation Alternatives
New York City DOT
Bike Tech Meetup
Bike activists (bloggers, political figures, …)
Bike Tools
Biking apps that track behavior
Biking apps aiding navigation
Bike computers for pro cyclists
GPS for bikers (TOM TOM has turn by turn voice directions in Europe)
Products with related concepts
Motivational, data sharing, storytelling, creative personalities, way finding, trip planning, etc.
Websites and apps: Weight Watchers, RunKeeper, Nike+, Daytum, OpenTripPlanner, TripAdvisor, Yelp, Tamagotchi etc.
Intended Experience/Form:
Experience
A friendly and delightful product that is aware of what the biker needs and when.
It alleviates stress from biking in chaotic surroundings.
It inspires discovery of new places.
It eases the process of using your bike for transit.
Form
App + physical component (talking helmet, vibrating handlebars, blinking lights, …)
Plan & Next Steps:
Our overall goal is to create a working prototype that lets people experience the core concepts early on, and iterate the concept from there.
Our next steps (2 week perspective):
- Create a journey map
Zoom out and identify pain points and opportunities within the area of urban biking. - Create a conceptual model of project
We narrow in on a concept suitable for our thesis. - Develop an MVP
Software: Creating a web app for a user to input start and end point, and get directions through voice.
Hardware: R&D for speakers, bluetooth, button, sensors, and connecting these pieces to each other and the app. - Do contextual research
What’s out there? Dig deeper than the list above. Divide and conquer.
Alternative elevator pitch:
We’re making a digital bike companion to be used by urban peddlers to alleviate them of the stress of navigation in a heavy trafficked, stressful environment. Enabling people to experience the city seamlessly from the bike seat, offering directions, tracking, bike maintenance advice, and tips for urban destinations.
