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'Velosynth' Brings Synthesized Music, Non-Stop Party to Your Bike

by Amar Toor on June 25, 2010 at 09:00 AM

Velosynth synthesizer
Let's face it. Casually riding your bike around on a calm, summery afternoon might be a pleasant experience. But wouldn't it be a whole lot more pleasant if you could pedal around town and produce seizure-inducing synthesized music at the same time? With a device called the Velosynth, you can.

As explained in this slightly annoying demo video from the creators at EFFALO, the Velosynth "allows you to expressively interact within your transportation environment, all while exploring the possibilities of networked bicycle-based computing." What that basically means is that the gadget turns your boring Velobis into a Berlin house party. With the help of a magnet and a wheel-attached sensor, the Velosynth automatically interprets your speed and acceleration, and converts that data into music that blares out of a built-in amp and speaker. The open-source, totally hackable system is now available for a mere $100.

The Velosynth does serve a slightly more practical purpose than just pumping out sick jams, though. The noise it generates could, for example, help to notify fellow travelers of your bike's otherwise silent presence. And it's hard to find fault with any product that might encourage more people to spend more time biking, and less time in their SUVs. Your neighborhood birds and elderly pedestrians may hate you, but the Ozone layer, at least, won't. [From: PSFK]


Tags: bicycle, Bicycles, bicycling, bike, biking, cycling, effalo, environment, music, Synthesizer, top, transportation, Velosynth, weird

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