Connected brake lights are a brand new technological process that consists in associating a removable light attached to a motorcycle helmet with an application on its smartphone.

What are connected brake lights?

Connected brake lights are a technological concentrate, which was developed by a French start-up. The idea of such a system was born a few years ago, and thanks to the support of many investors, the idea was able to materialize. The final product was presented at the CES show in Las Vegas in 2017. As for its technical characteristics, this invention weighs about 150 g, and is attached to the back of motorcycle helmets using a magnetic holder. This new technology has a deceleration, hazard and position light. But it is also capable of detecting falls and alerting rescue services and relatives. To benefit from these features, you must download the application once the lights are attached to the helmet.  This product is rechargeable via a USB cable and has autonomy of about 8 hours.

Advantages of connected brake lights

Many people might think that this is just a simple gadget with a single purpose, an aesthetic rendering. But this is not actually the case, it is an additional visual security. Indeed, the lights are placed at the back of the biker's helmet, closer to the visual height of the vehicles. Another advantage of these connected lights is accident detection. If the biker accidentally crashes, the system can detect it and warn the emergency services while giving them the GPS coordinates thanks to the geolocation of your smartphone. In addition, it will also warn your relatives, according to a list of 3 contacts previously saved in the connected application, also providing them with your GPS coordinates. This device weighs about 150g, and fixed to the helmet, so it is not a nuisance for the biker. And this, even on long trips.

Disadvantages

The functions offered by this new connected device are very practical. However, their effectiveness is not yet 100% guaranteed. Indeed, if you face strong winds, decelerations may not be detected. But also, during slight decelerations, the device may not detect this type of braking. One of the biggest drawbacks of this new device is its loading system. The cap that has to be lifted up to load the device is a bit difficult to remove. In addition, there is a lack of indication as to the charge level, so it is not clear whether the charge is complete. We can therefore say that this is an innovative system, even if it still has some drawbacks, these should be corrected by future updates. But this new connected device is already very practical and should be further improved to ensure better safety for two-wheelers.traduc