I Want This Dazzling Japanese Bike Storage System to Come to America
While we’ve been busy getting our bikes stolen here in the States, Japan has quietly perfected a way to ensure that your ride never gets stolen.
The Eco Cycle is so efficient that it’s already somewhat famous among the world’s online design communities. But not yet quite famous enough to launch in the States.
This is how it works: If you’re interested in using the bike parking lot, you must first create an account with the bicycle park company, agreeing to pay the equivalent of $26 a month. You’ll then receive a card and a microchip in the form of a slim black bar that you attach to your bike (as shown below).
When you move your front tire into one of the parking lot station entry points, it will pick up a signal from that microchip and automatically recognize that the bike is yours. The doors will then grip your front wheel and ask you to step aside. Once you’ve double-checked that you’ve removed all your valuables from the bike, you’ll press a green button, and the machine will suck your bike into its underground lair. It takes about 14 seconds to rotate your bike and store it in its own special cubbyhole.
When you want to get the bike back, you whip out your card and scan it at the station. This will trigger a huge robotic arm to grab your bike by its front wheel, lift it back to the surface, and spit it back out.
Though clearly a brilliant invention, the Eco Cycle has not yet made it to metropolis that’s also sorely short on space: New York City. Let’s cross our fingers for that to change soon.
[Via Boing Boing]
