自行车导航可以变得更简单和更安全

Bike Navigation May Become Simpler and Safer 自行车导航可以变得更简单和更安全

As bicycles become an increasingly popular alternative form of transportation in big cities, the number of accidents is also on the rise, often because riders are being distracted while trying to navigate¹ with maps and directions from their smart phones. A new technology developed in Canada may make navigation simpler - and therefore safer.  

In many cities around the world, including Montreal and Washington, anyone with a credit card can go to a ride-share station and rent a bike.

But knowing how to ride, and riding on a busy street while making turns to reach a destination safely are two different things.

Public Bike System Company, which operates Montreal’s bike share system, says its riders needed a device that could make figuring out how to get where they were going simpler and safer.

“The less people are inclined to look for information with one hand on their bicycles and the other on their smart phones, the more they are focused on the road the better it will be. And they receive information only at certain times," said Director of Operations Jean-Paul Palaux.

‘SmartHalo,’ developed by Montreal-based company Cycle-Labs, lets riders keep their smart phones in their pockets.

“By having SmartHalo on your bike you get very simple and clear instructions," said Maxime Couturier of Cycle-Labs.

Permanently² installed on the handlebars, SmartHalo connects wirelessly³ to the rider’s smartphone, finding the simplest and safest route to the desired destination.

Directions are communicated with clear visual signals. It tracks the rider's time, speed, distance and calories burned, and indicates incoming phone calls and messages. It is water and dust proof, and cannot be removed from the bike without a special key.

“It's really great when you don't really know which route to take to reach point B. When you don't really know the city, I think it's awesome⁴ because it tells you where you can go," said cyclist Emilie Bonnier.

‘SmartHalo’, which costs $150, also has a built-in safety device that flashes red and sounds a loud alarm if someone tries to steal the bike.

Its developers hope to install the device on all bike share bicycles in Montreal, and hopefully on thousands of bikes around the world.  

1 navigate   

v.航行，飞行；导航，领航

参考例句：

• He was the first man to navigate the Atlantic by air.他是第一个飞越大西洋的人。
• Such boats can navigate on the Nile.这种船可以在尼罗河上航行。

2 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

3 wirelessly   

不用电线的，用无线电波传送的

参考例句：

• I heard it on the wireless. 我是从无线电收音机里听到的。
• There are a lot of wireless links in a radio. 收音机里有许多无线电线路。

4 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.