TRENTO. The Department of Information Engineering and Science of theUniversity of Trentoin collaboration with theUniversity of Ulmin Germany, is studying a system to warn cyclists of potential dangers in the mountains. The system will be based on existing technologies designed to prevent accidents in cities.
“Standardized technologies for vehicle-to-vehicle communication already exist. What we wanted to understand is whether they also work in the mountains, where there are particular environmental characteristics and a cellular infrastructure is not always present”, explains the researcher Michele Segatawho works in telecommunications and is developing the idea together with graduate student Michele Zucchelli.
Both passionate about mountain biking, Segata and Zucchelli have carried out a measurement campaign in Val GardenaThe tests were done on two routes: a downhill one reserved only for bikes and another shared with hikers.
During the tests, the devices were mounted on board the two vehicles, the first stationary, the second in motion. In one case, for example, the bike was positioned at the exit of a curve to simulate the presence of a fallen cyclist on the track in a place with poor visibility, while the other was arriving. Each radio recorded the information received from the other regarding the quality of the signal, where it was lost and the distance between the two devices. After the analyses, it emerged that the technologies work well, but that they remain some problems related to the environment and the loss of GPS signalnecessary for communication in one of the technologies considered in the study.
The aim is to reduce the incidenti in mountain bike which, as demonstrated by the latest data released by the Trentino Alpine Rescue, have increased: in 2023 there were 244 against 221 the previous year. The next steps of the study will concern the engineering of the instrument, the creation of the interface with the user, the design of the electronic components. The intentions of the authors of the study also include the possibility of automatically starting the request for help if the device detects an accident.
2024-09-20 16:53:29