Ford Unveils Smart Mobility Plan

At the Mobility World Congress, Ford launched its new Ford Smart Mobility plan to study how electric bicycles can work with cars and public transport. This experiment, according to the company, is aimed at changing the way the world moves via innovation in connectivity, mobility, autonomous vehicles, consumer experience and Big Data.

Ford has released two prototype e-bikes, the MoDe:Me and MoDe:Pro. Both bikes have a 200 watt motor with a 9 amp-hour battery to provide electric pedal assist for speeds up to 15 mph. The Me version is intended for urban commuters, while the Pro bike is designed for urban commercial use.

The e-bikes include the following features:

• Handle-bar grip vibrations inform the rider when to turn for navigation. Turn signals are automatically triggered, and there is a smartphone application that identifies bike-friendly roads.
• Multimodal navigation and smart routing integrates journey planning with vehicle and public transportation networks.
• The ability to change electric pedal assist rate depending on heart rate. Users can also activate a "No Sweat" mode, reducing the amount of required pedaling.
• SYNC compatibility with vehicles when the bike is stowed and charging.

“Changing the way we think, collaborate and behave is essential to ensuring freedom of movement of both people and economies,” said Barb Samardzich, chief operating officer, Ford of Europe. “The Ford Smart Mobility plan supports our commitment to innovation and is aimed specifically at developing smarter transportation systems that take the worry and anxiety out of journey planning and improve the quality of life in busy cities."

For more information, visit Ford.

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.