A Context-Aware E-Bike System to Reduce Pollution Inhalation while Cycling

Abstract

The effect of transport-related pollution on human health is fast becoming recognized as a major issue in cities worldwide. Cyclists, in particular, face great health risks, as they typically are most exposed to tail-pipe emissions. Four avenues are being explored to combat urban air pollution: 1) policy interventions such as outright bans on polluting vehicles, 2) embracing zero tailpipe emission vehicles, 3) measuring air-quality as a means to better informing citizens of zones of higher pollution, and 4) developing smart mobility devices that seek to minimize the effect of polluting devices on citizens as they transport goods and individuals in our cities. Following this latter direction, in this paper, we present a new way to protect cyclists from the effect of urban pollution. Namely, by exploiting the actuation possibilities afforded by pedelecs or e-bikes (electric bikes), we design a cyber-physical system that mitigates the effect of urban pollution by indirectly controlling the ventilation rates (volume of air inhaled per minute) of cyclists in polluted areas. Results from a real device are presented to illustrate the efficacy of our system.