Telstra, a telecommunications company, has partnered with Arenberg, a cycling business, to build a 5G linked bike helmet prototype that would enhance the cyclists' on-road safety.
With the 5G technology, Telstra was able to design several safety applications utilizing Arenberg's new helmet, which has live video streaming features.
The bike helmet collects a variety of information and combines it with data from linked automobiles around the cyclist. It also includes linked infrastructure and traffic cameras throughout the city.
The data is subsequently sent in real-time to the cyclist via a helmet speaker, which provides alerts, safety information, and warnings. Road dangers, potential roadblocks, vehicle door alarm systems, and collision detection systems are among them.
The prototype also enables remote coaching to the cyclists. It also lets the cyclists stream their rides in real-time for other users. Telstra did this by overlaying Internet of Things (IoT) data, like the speed, power input, and heart rate of the cyclist onto the app.
Todd Essery, Leader of Telstra Lab Innovation, said "What we've done here as a prototype is to connect [the helmet] to a phone, that phone is a 5G phone, and video streaming via Wi-Fi to that phone, and then we're on-forwarding that to a video server that is running in the cloud."
The helmet prototype has a 5G connection that sends GPS, video, and other info to a cloud for data processing and analysis. It even has the vehicle-to-everything (V2X) program, which collects data from linked automobiles on the road.
The bike helmet prototype, according to Essery, is an extension of prior vehicle connectivity experiments that Telstra has been doing since 2016 on its V2X technology. Trials with Lexus and the Victorian government were among the early studies.
Essery also added that the prototype bike helmet is only one of several initiatives Telstra Labs is developing to demonstrate the 5G connection’s possible use cases.
The company stated that it aims to motivate and demonstrate to other firms, such as Arenberg, what amazing things 5G can achieve. Many businesses are unaware that the connectivity exists, as well as the potential to make use of 5G's high throughput and low latency.
Moreover, Telstra said that they plan to leverage all pieces of technology they can to maintain the safety of the riders for the future as more people turn to alternative modes of transportation to combat city congestion, climate change, and improve overall health.
