Skip to main content

Ford develops Smart Jacket to improve cyclist safety

Ford has developed clothing which has built-in indicators and flashing brake lights for cyclists. Smart Jacket was developed with urban cycling clothing specialist Lumo and mobility software company Tome, and allows cyclists to better indicate their presence and intentions to other road users. The wearable’s navigation app wirelessly connects to smartphones and vibrates the jacket’s sleeves to help riders take the right direction to avoid busy roads.
June 26, 2018 Read time: 1 min

278 Ford has developed clothing which has built-in indicators and flashing brake lights for cyclists.

Smart Jacket was developed with urban cycling clothing specialist Lumo and mobility software company Tome, and allows cyclists to better indicate their presence and intentions to other road users. The wearable’s navigation app wirelessly connects to smartphones and vibrates the jacket’s sleeves to help riders take the right direction to avoid busy roads.

It features audible interfaces and a system which allows cyclists to use bodily movements to take calls, receive messages and repeat navigation guidance.

The product is part of Ford’s Share The Road campaign, whose stated aim is fostering greater empathy between drivers and cyclists.

Ford is now applying for a patent to develop the prototype further.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Flexible, demand-based parking charges ease parking problems
    April 10, 2012
    Innovative parking initiatives on the US Pacific Coast. David Crawford reviews. Californian cities are leading the way in trialling new solutions to their endemic parking problems. According to Donald Shoup, a professor of urban planning at the University of California in Los Angeles, drivers looking for available spots can cause up to 74% of traffic congestion in downtown areas. One solution is variable, demand-responsive pricing of parking.
  • Flexible, demand-based parking charges ease parking problems
    April 10, 2012
    Innovative parking initiatives on the US Pacific Coast. David Crawford reviews. Californian cities are leading the way in trialling new solutions to their endemic parking problems. According to Donald Shoup, a professor of urban planning at the University of California in Los Angeles, drivers looking for available spots can cause up to 74% of traffic congestion in downtown areas. One solution is variable, demand-responsive pricing of parking.
  • Kerb your enthusiasm, warns Passport
    March 4, 2019
    Dynamic kerbside management is crucial if urban authorities are to address increasingly chaotic situations caused by the gig economy and mobility innovation, says Adam Warnes at Passport Demand for the kerbside is growing and changing and it’s no surprise when you consider the recent innovations within the mobility industry. For starters, there are new modes of transport, including ride-shares, electric vehicles (EVs), dockless cycles, last-mile consolidations and autonomous vehicles (AVs). Secondly, the
  • Emovis replaces gas tax with pay per mile charge in Washington pilot
    March 12, 2018
    2,000 Washington-based volunteers are taking part in an Emovis project which will replace the gas tax with a pay-per-mile travelled charge. The results of the year-long trial will help shape the state’s future transportation funding policy. Called the Washington Road User Charge Pilot Project, it will also test multi-jurisdictional charging by relying on the location-aware capabilities of on-board mileage recording devices. The simulated charges applied to trips will vary depending on the location of each