By Marianne Meadahl, SFU News

What if your bike could take care of covering your blind spot, protect itself from theft, and even charge your phone?

A team of Simon Fraser University Mechatronic Systems Engineering (MSE) students in Surrey has conceived Hopite, a customizable, modular bike seat that provides safety and security to meet a wide range of customer needs. Features can include an anti-theft system, blinkers, power generation (USB charging) and blind-spot detection.

Still a concept, Hopite is among several student ideas being showcased at the MSE's capstone project demo at the Surrey campus.

Fourth-year SFU student Reem Abbass, CEO of 4-Systems, says the seat is embedded with electronics and sensors to operate its various components. Batteries and further electronic components are embedded in the seat post to power the USB charging system. The USB port is easily accessible, located under the seat.

“The blinkers and blind spot detection are operational as long as the seat is in a good working condition and the user is biking,” she explains. For the anti-theft system, riders can arm and disarm the seat using a mobile application. 

The seats can be custom made to enable some or all of the features. Hopite fits all bike models, and has comfort in mind with a slight racing-style design.

“Our goal is to encourage more people around the world to cycle with safety and security, and to do so with a system that is also perfectly tailored to their needs,” says Abbass.

The 4-Systems team iincludes students Harry He, Shiv Patel, Abdel Aldomyati, Mouataz Kaddoura and Reem Abbass.