Design, Implementation and Testing of a New Multi-Sensor Mobile Device as a Tool for Cycling Data Collection in Highly Congested Urban Streets

Abstract

The number of bicycle riders in New York City (NYC) has been increasing steadily in the past few years. These numbers include private and shared bicycles. The NYC bicycle network has been expanded to accommodate the needs of the increasing number of riders. Although the new infrastructure has reduced the number of cyclists killed or seriously injured (KSI) in some areas, in other areas similar improvements were not observed. A data-driven approach to study the possible effects of this type of infrastructure inconsistency on the variation of the number of bicycle crashes from one region to another in the city is the primary motivation of this paper. A highly portable and inexpensive sensing device for measuring the distance between a bicycle and lateral objects is designed and developed from scratch. The developed mobile sensing device can also map bicycle trajectories to highlight critical segments where the safe distance from passing vehicles is not respected. This mobile device is powered by a portable power source and it is comprised of two ultrasonic sensors, a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver, and a real-time clock (RTC). The sensor is secured inside a custom design 3D printed case. The case can be easily attached to any bicycle including shared bikes for testing. The final prototype is entirely functional and used to collect sample data to demonstrate its effectiveness to address safety-related problems mentioned above. Finally, a dashboard is created to display collected key information. This key information can be used by researches and agencies for a better understanding of the factors contributing to the safety of bicycle routes.