Inserting a bit of intelligence and added brightness into front and rear commuter lights, the (currently funded) See Sense Kickstarter project looks promising. The switch-free, USB chargeable See Sense is equipped with sensors monitoring orientation, acceleration, and ambient lighting conditions to automatically provide the optimal power and flash mode for your ride. With mount-and-forget convenience and the clever adapatations to your riding conditions, it’s little wonder that founder Philip McAleese has met his KickStarter goal plenty early.
More photos, detailed specs and video after the break.
With changing conditions and speeds of a typical commute, often the plain old ‘steady’ or ‘blink’ may not be the optimal mode for your lights. Lights usually offer trade-offs in brightness, runtime, and size. Being a cyclist, Philip McAleese understood this. And being an engineer, he addressed it. With full-power lighting required in certain situations but overkill and battery-sapping in many others, the See Sense uses its sensors to constantly adjust brightness, maintain a trim weight, and ensure long run times.
Smart on the inside, but simple to operate – the See Sense has no switches (switched on/off with motion gestures and has an auto-off function). Weight is a scant 55 grams. Models include a 150 and 200 lumen front and a 90 or 120 lumen rear. The USB rechargeable battery provides “at least” 12 hours of runtime, per See Sense, and a fuel gauge shows remaining battery life.
Many have already voted with their pocketbooks – this Kickstarter is funded. But many pledges at various levels for January delivery of See Sense lights are still available. Check out the Kickstarter page for even more details.
