Ford Shows Off Electric Cycles At MWC 2015

Ford’s big news at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this year is its connected bicycle experiment.  Yes, a car company making bicycles.

Called MoDe, the two bikes would run on a combination of pedal power and pre-charged batteries. They also fold up, letting the rider easily stow the bike in a car or truck or carry it onto a train. Ford pictures the two bikes as part of a broader mobility system that integrates cars, bikes, and various other forms of transportation into a seamless, networked whole.

Ford has been promoting alternate transportation research projects for a while, most notably at its most recent CES keynote, but these prototypes offer a more concrete look at the company’s ambitions. Some of the bike’s most impressive features rely on connecting to other devices. An integrated iOS navigation app would direct users to the fastest route, potentially a mix of car, bike, and public transit. The coolest feature is a No Sweat mode, which automatically activates the motor when the rider’s heart rate climbs above a certain point, as measured by a bluetooth-connected health tracker.

They’re neat products and you can immediately see how useful they would be for people who want to zip around the city in as little time as possible. A Detroit automaker might seem like an unlikely origin for a smartbike, but this isn’t the first time Ford has experimented with pedal power.  Still, both the MoDe bikes and the patent are still prototypes, so it’s unlikely you’ll see any of them in a dealership any time soon.

Source: The Verge