BikeBorg
BikeBorg is a design fiction project that began in 2012 at the Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design.
It was expanded upon in 2016 for a bicycle art exhibition at the Budapest Museum of Fine Arts.
Download the comic.
About
Most futuristic bicycle concepts concentrate on the bike itself, but not the interaction between the bike and its rider. So for this project, which was developed for a performative design / design fiction class, we looked more closely at what a bicycle-human hybrid — a BikeBorg — might look like.
Scenario
In a not-so-distant future, fuel shortages and long-term financial instability have led to a shift in how we move around in spaces. The main mode of transportation for most people is now the bicycle. Cars have become less common and are primarily used by the ultra wealthy. The ongoing environmental pollution and degradation has reached a point where it's safer to wear breathing masks, and exposure to the environment needs to be monitored. In this future, the bicycle is now considered the ultimate symbol of an individual’s social status and expression.
As a result, megacities have become breeding grounds for a number of bicycle-focused subcultures. One of these subcultures combines aspects of cyberpunk and DIY hardware hacking with personally modified bikes.
They call themselves BikeBorgs.
Concept
BikeBorgs are physically connected to their bikes. The connection enables the transfer of data and energy between the rider and the bicycle. The bike generates energy from the rider in the form of body heat and cycling power, which in turn powers the bike, resulting in a self-sustaining system.
Through the use of open source hardware and software, BikeBorgs are able to modify their bicycles to include different sensors and actuators based on their individual needs. Modifications can include adding sensors to measure the level of pollutants the individual has been exposed to, or adding lights to enhance hand signals.
Team
Hideaki Matsui, Andrew Nip, Markus Schmeiduch
