BluBrake represents a high-tech European SME specialized in active braking control in two wheeled vehicles, with the mission to increase safety and riding experience for cyclists and become a worldwide reference technology provider of ABS technology in the e-bike industry.
In fact, there is an important demand for safety-relevant products because the number of people riding electric bikes is growing every year, and safety for cyclists is a decisive factor to enhance this modern form of mobility on the market. The EU, in its policy orientation on road safety, is launching recommendations to institutions and Member States in order to adopt legislations to increase the cyclists’ safety.
There are two situations every bicycle rider is afraid of during braking: front wheel lockup and nose-over, (liftoff of the rear wheel and the driver being thrown over the handlebars). Common cause of these accidents is the fact to activate the front brake too hard. Thus, the strong market penetration of modern hydraulic disc brakes with enhanced brake power and the widespread diffusion of e-bikes that guarantee ease of movement while driving, has dramatically increased this danger.
These risks can be mitigated by introducing an active technology able to constantly monitor bike dynamics and support the cyclist during deceleration. Already the norm on cars and motorcycles, Antilock Braking System (ABS) is no doubt, the most promising technology for modulating a bicycle’s brake during an emergency stop or when traction is limited.
Nowadays, ABS technology is widely spread in car and motorbike markets: the shift of this technology to electric bike market requires great efforts in terms of portability and integration and foresees more criticalities in terms of system weight and energy consumption compared to the motorbike market. Nevertheless, the ABS has the potential to become a safety standard equipment in premium electric bike market, as confirmed by the ultra-high willingness to spend from target customers.
To respond to this market demand and with the final aim of providing an innovative solution in the field of safety on the road, BluBrake has developed BB6S Active, the lightest ABS system for electric bikes. The performance of the prototypal system has been verified and tested on several real road surfaces (such as dry and wet asphalt, gravel, off-road, wet conditions) in operational environment.
The goal of the initiative is that of making BB6S Active the standard safety equipment in the e-bike industry. To reach this goal, the following objectives have been set out by the company for the H2020 project:
- Fault analysis, functional safety and legislative framework: this will include the performance of a FMEA analysis to detect the system faults and use the results to guide the following engineering phase of the product; the legislative framework will be reviewed so as to reach compliance with relevant EU standards and directives.
- Engineering and industrialization of the BB6S Active main components: the beneficiary will proceed with a redesign of the electronics and of the firmware and with the industrialization of the actuator to make production as easy as possible. The ABS indicator light will be developed, and the external case industrialized to allow for mass production. The whole ABS system design will be then validated with the support of braking system manufacturers.
- Extensive product testing and pre-series validation in both simulated environment (bench testing) and real scenario (road testing with pre-series), achievement of product certifications for global commercialization.
- Refinement of the IPR and commercialization strategy for preparing the product launch and revision of the company structure and organization for production purposes.
- Finalization of strategic partnerships with brakes manufacturers and signing of commercial agreements with OEM/bike makers.
