Bristol is to be the first city in the world to install CycleEye, a cyclist sensor alert system designed by Bristol-based Fusion Processing.
Bristol City Council will be funding a number of units on buses within the city, where cycling has more than doubled over the last 10 years.
CycleEye has been developed to reduce the growing number of cyclist collisions and casualties across the country. Fitted to the side of a bus, a CycleEye unit uses radar and camera sensors to identify cyclists in potentially dangerous situations in close proximity to the bus, and gives an audible alert to the driver’s cab.
The unit is operable night and day in all weathers. It is unique in the way it alerts drivers – the intelligent system is programmed to ignore other nearby objects such as bollards, railings or other vehicles so they are not mistaken for bikes, cutting out the false alerts that have been an issue with other cycle safety technologies. The audible-only system also reduces cognitive overload on the driver, allowing them to respond faster to potentially critical situations.
Mayor of Bristol George Ferguson said: “Being European Green Capital is partially about finding innovative ways in which we can be a smart, intelligent city of the future. Bristol has a well-deserved reputation for being a cycle-friendly city, and it’s another Green Capital achievement that First West of England is extending their use of CycleEye within the city in which it was invented. Doing all we can to support cycling is a key part of supporting healthy living and reducing congestion and pollution.”
Jim Hutchinson, founder of Fusion Processing, said: “It’s a massive boost to us to receive this order from Bristol City Council following First’s trial of CycleEye last year. The advanced sensor and processing systems developed by Fusion can play a big part in intelligent transport, both now and in the future. We’re moving into an age where smart cities are harnessing technology to make travel and transport better and safer for people, and that has to be a good thing.”
James Freeman, MD of First West of England, said: “We’re delighted to be working with the Council and Fusion to extend the use of CycleEye technology in Bristol. The kit will be installed on a number of buses in the coming months and gives us a wider opportunity to test it on a larger number of routes to see how it does detecting cyclists as they pass through the driver’s blind spot.
“We are constantly looking at ways we can reduce risk in our business, ensuring the safety of our customers, staff and all other road users in the process. CycleEye is an interesting piece of technology in this regard.”
