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Power AI

PC Maker Acer Is Building a Fancy Electric Bike With Built-In AI (electrek.co) 30

Posted by BeauHD from the why-not dept.
Computer component maker Acer built a lightweight electric bike called the Acer ebii. Electrek reports: This lightweight 35 lb. (16 kg) e-bike features a number of gadgets and gizmos we have yet to spot in the industry, such as built-in AI designed to predictively control the transmission and make use of collision detection sensors for a safer ride. There's also proximity unlocking feature that the company says "automatically locks your bike when you leave and unlocks it again when you're nearby." My Gogoro electric scooter has a similar function, though that's a highway-capable vehicle.

Tracking capabilities are built into the ebii to help keep tabs on it 24/7. If the bike is ever stolen, it can be locked remotely and tracked using its built-in GPS locator. But don't think that you won't find typical bike parts here either, as the Acer ebii still features high-end components like a belt drive instead of a chain drive, 160mm hydraulic disc brakes, and 360-degree LED lighting. Airless tires are designed to remove the chance of flats, and a lefty-style fork does double duty as a conversation piece and a fancy weight saver.

There's also a 460 Wh electric bicycle battery that is said to offer a range of up to 68 miles (110 km) per charge. A top speed of 15 mph (25 km/h) and a 250W rear hub motor look to keep the bike within European and Asian power and speed limits. There's no hand throttle, which means riders will have to rely on pedal assist that is activated when the rider spins the pedals. It appears that there's some confusion about the 2.5-hour charger included with the bike, as some in the industry seem to think it can be used to charge phones and batteries as well. In fact, it's actually the e-bike's removable battery itself that can function as a portable power station to charge up your mobile devices. Pricing and availability are not yet available. But there is a launch video to build up excitement.
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PC Maker Acer Is Building a Fancy Electric Bike With Built-In AI More

PC Maker Acer Is Building a Fancy Electric Bike With Built-In AI

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  • The top speed is horrible. Hopefully they will change that else no one will want it.

    • Acer says that you will be able to subscribe to higher speeds in certain regions at a rate of $10 per month per mph. The built in refrigerator/food heater will also be subscription based at $1 pet hour per degree Celsius heating or cooling from ambient. Another sore point is that you can only pee or poo in the toilet. Not both at once.

    • That's regulatory, as specified in the article - "to keep the bike within European and Asian power and speed limits." As in, if the thing can go faster than 15mph, suddenly you need a motorcycle license, motorcycle lights, registration, taxes, helmet, etc...

      It's also why my motorcycle is 649cc, not actually 650. 650 is the next category up, higher taxes, fees, and all that.

      • In California, e-bikes can go up to 28 MPH if they are throttleless, or 20 MPH if they have a throttle. Yeah, it's ableist, but anyway... the good news is it doesn't have to have pedals to be classed as a bicycle as long as it maxes out at 20, I guess.

        15 is a stupidly low max speed, because the average amateur cyclist can go 2-3 MPH faster than that on a normal pedal bicycle. If you can be going flat out with a motorized bicycle and be passed by a normal guy in normal clothes going normal speeds, the limit

  • An e-bike is probably nice if you live somewhere that had the foresight to provide adequate bike paths and dedicated bike lanes. Where I live in suburban central FL, biking typically means you'll be riding close to the curb, where all the garbage ends up. In addition to having to watch out for street detritus, you also have to remain vigilant of distracted motorists, and assholes who are irritated that you have the audacity to utilize a public road on a vehicle which is incapable of going 10MPH over the s

    • All the cars make it too dangerous to bike, better give our kids a car as soon as possible.

    • An e-bike is probably nice if you live somewhere that had the foresight to provide adequate bike paths and dedicated bike lanes. Where I live in suburban central FL, biking typically means you'll be riding close to the curb, where all the garbage ends up.

      I think your governor is going outlaw electric bikes in the great Florida war on Woke anyway.

      • I think your governor is going outlaw electric bikes in the great Florida war on Woke anyway.

        The ironic thing is that BEVs are actually really popular here. There's a Tesla supercharger station opening soon right near where I usually go shopping, and I see Teslas on the road constantly. It's the weird thing about Florida; progressive policies* and ideas are quite popular here, but progressive politicians aren't.

        * $15 minimum wage passed, medical marijuana passed, lots of people own BEVs and PV systems.

  • Will it be able to discern the difference between red and green lights? If so, it can do better than about 90% of the cyclists out there today.

  • I wonder if the bike is smart enough to scream bloody murder when the Li-ION power pack goes "FWWISHH!" in the middle of the night, near the couch, while you are sleeping, while it's plugged into the charger. Those battery files are particularly nasty.

    • "Those battery files are particularly nasty"

      Those battery fiRes are particularly nasty

  • ... Blockchain and Microservices, otherwise I'm not interested.

  • All this AI talk is just a hype.
    With only a part of the blockchain, you still have a lock and chain so if that isn't safe enough, I don't know what would be.

  • There are reasons airless tyres are not commonly seen, comfort being a big one.
    Hub motor? Not ideal. The motor should be in the frame, for mechanical and weight balance reasons.
    Automatic locking? So the bike is not secured to a solid object?
    AI on a bike? Acer are trying to jam in AI where it's not needed, presumably to charge a premium.
    Think I'll pass on this.

    • There are reasons airless tyres are not commonly seen, comfort being a big one. Hub motor? Not ideal. The motor should be in the frame, for mechanical and weight balance reasons. Automatic locking? So the bike is not secured to a solid object? AI on a bike? Acer are trying to jam in AI where it's not needed, presumably to charge a premium. Think I'll pass on this.

      Me too, at least until they get blockchain and crypto mining on the bikes. Come on manufacturers, live in the now!

  • The Skynet of the bike-lanes.

  • Okay, marketing nonsense but I'll play along. If this is the same quality as most other Acer products, you're already dead lol.

  • ...a lefty-style fork does double duty as a conversation piece and a fancy weight saver.

    It's also proof that modern engineers are dumber than ever. A regular double fork will never need to be as reinforced as a lefty-style fork, so they can be much lighter while still being more sturdy.

  • Tried to some phone app that will not be around as long as the slow ass bike. I am pretty sure I can hit 15mph with no issues. Helps that it is flat around here. There is also a good chance that as soon as this app is no longer supported, your bike will be no longer functional.
  • I came here because this was yet another BS story about how AI bla bla bla.... I won't read another article until it's about AI in my toaster.

    It's a huge problem these days, and can only be solved by, you know, AI.
    Oh, here it is, https://www.inverse.com/article/25426-mark-zuckerberg-ai-toaster
  • You guys realize that April fool's is right around the corner, right?

  • I appreciate that Acer is trying to use its intelligence in other fields, but what exactly is Acer bringing to bicycling here?

    * Lefty forks are already a thing and there's a lot of reasons they're not widely used.
    * No-flat tires are already a thing and there's a few important reasons why they're not widely used
    * Integrating lights into a frame is always a bad idea.
    * The app is neat, but not really necessary and serves as an ongoing Acer expense if it's going to ensure it doesn't because a security risk vect

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