- The French start-up Cosmo Connected launches its Cosmo Ride for cyclists and scooter users.
- Sold 69 euros, this light to hang on any protective helmet works with and a Bluetooth remote control to trigger a flashing system.
- Paired with a smartphone, the Cosmo Ride also gives an alert in the event of a fall or accident.
Seen from the asphalt, the last strikes will have had at least one advantage: getting people back in the saddle, even converting new users to the little queen. Problem: while the town hall of Paris counted 180,000 cyclists in mid-December against 100,000 in November, the number of accidents with bikes (and scooters) has also increased. Reflective vests, helmets, gloves and even anti-pollution masks are more than ever necessary accessories to protect cyclists. We can now add the Cosmo Ride to them.
Developed by the French start-up Cosmo Connected, Cosmo Ride wants to make the cyclist of motorists more visible. It consists of a light to hang on a helmet, a Bluetooth remote control to be attached to the handlebars of his two-wheeler and an application.
The hitch which comes to 69 euros is implemented quite easily. Once recharged via USB, the light and its remote control can easily be attached to their respective support. For fire, Cosmo Connected provides a hook with double-sided tape that can fit almost any type of helmet. For the remote control, two elastic hooks allow the accessory to be securely attached to the handlebars. About ten minutes were necessary for us to carry out these operations. It remains to put on his mount.
An automated stop light
Incorporating a three-axis accelerometer (to detect speed variations) and a three-axis gyrometer (to measure angular speeds), the Cosmo Ride light is also composed of 96 micro LED bulbs (48 red and 48 orange). When it detects a deceleration, it turns red, like a classic car brake light, then goes out. After being surprised, the vehicle following us during our test confirmed that it was working perfectly. His driver even told us that this had prompted him to increase his safety distance with our bike…
The remote control has three buttons. There are first two to activate the yellow indicators on either side of the light. There is then a second button so that the light turns on in pale red (position light), or in flashing bright red (in the event of a fall). The central button is used to light the red light (position light) or to make it flash to indicate an accident. Again, no problem during our tests: the remote control and the light are perfectly synchronized. The latency between the moment when a button is pressed and the reaction of the fire is almost nonexistent.
Visibility to improve in full sun
We regret, however, a small lack of visibility of the remote control indicator lights in direct sunlight. When you activate one of the arrows to turn, the white light above it flashes, but you can't see it enough. Not to mention that the flashing light must be interrupted once it has been turned with a new press. Lack of visibility required, we sometimes took the pedals in the carpet, not knowing much if our light was flashing or not at the end of a turn.
Also, be careful: with our new equipment, we have instinctively not extended our arms to turn (relying probably on boundless confidence in our turn signals!). Consideration given: associating a turn signal and an outstretched arm can only add to the cyclist's safety! On the other hand, the user of a scooter will be able to keep both of his hands on his handlebars after having actuated his turn signal (it being understood that driving a scooter with one hand is at the very least a breaker).
Overall, the use of the Cosmo Ride remains rather reassuring. This feeling is increased at night when the visibility of the fire is really maximum. Impossible for the cars that follow us not to see us!
An application that alerts emergency services
But the Cosmo Ride goes further. Its application with integrated mapping is combined with a tactile remote control which can be substituted for the physical remote control. This requires having your smartphone riveted to a handlebar adapter (not supplied, sold for around 10 euros depending on the model). In our view, this function is less relevant. Not sure either that it is very prudent to trigger the indicators from the screen of his smartphone.
On the other hand, the dual tracking and alert system developed by Cosmo Connected has its uses. It is thus possible to define in the application up to three guardian angels by entering their name and phone number. When we are about to get in the saddle, just launch the application to be able to share our journey with these good souls. Thus, the chosen people will receive a notification inviting them to follow live on a map our progress. This can be reassuring for the family… (or for an employer who sees that his employee is well on his way to get to work!).
An SOS sent automatically in the event of a fall
Another “service”, even more precious, is that the Cosmo Ride accelerometer can instantly detect a fall. From then on, the light goes into Warning mode (Flashing red) and the application invites us to contact 112. If we do not do so (sign of a possible impossibility to use our smartphone), the predefined contacts are alerted by SMS after 90 seconds. They thus receive a message with GPS coordinates of the "victim" via Google Maps. A simple press on "Itinerary" will lead them to the accident site. We thus simulated an accident by dropping our weighted helmet of the Cosmo Ride on the ground. The sequence of actions described above went exactly as planned.
If not a few small ergonomic questions to improve, the Cosmo Ride seems doomed to a bright future, especially in our cities which want to be more and more cyclable. It is expected that its application will further improve to become a real guidance application, taking into account in particular the cycle paths and tracks. And we start to dream that once a destination entered, the application will trigger, alone, thanks to geolocation, the flashing lights of Cosmo Ride…
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