Skip to main content

Ford’s e-bike knows when you’re tired of pedaling, takes over

Big companies love acronyms, and Ford is no exception. It calls the MoDe: Pro a “commercial multi-modal transport system,” but we prefer “e-bike.” The result of an internal design competition at Ford, the electric two-wheeler made a strange standout alongside smartphones and wearables at Mobile World Congress this week, but it’s designed to work in concert with both.

A 200w motor enables the MoDe: Pro to hit speeds of up to 15 miles per hour, and the 9 Ah battery gives it an hour and a half of continuous use, but it’s really designed to run in spurts when you need it. That’s where the mobile synergy comes into play. If you pair the bike with a heart-rate sensor, the motor can be configured to kick in when your heart rate reaches a certain level. In other words, it recognizes when you’re working hard and provides a little extra help.

Related Videos

You can also use the voice-activated app to check the charge on the bike and access stats. The same app enables bike tracking, route-planning, and delivery scheduling. That’s because Ford sees this as a commercial fleet product that you tote around inside a van, and then deploy at a destination. It can be folded up and docked in the van, which automatically charges the battery, and modular boxes on the tail-rack offer ample storage space. When folded, it can also be towed like a wagon for rolling through pedestrianized areas, or inside buildings. Ford expects it will appeal to delivery services, tradesmen, couriers, and even municipal services like the police.

Ford Electric Smart Bike

The cool features continue with the navigation system, which is powered by your linked smartphone. The handlebars provide cues. For example, when you need to turn right, the right handlebar vibrates, and there are turn signals on the end of each handlebar. There’s also a proximity sensor, so both handlebars will vibrate to alert the rider that a vehicle is close behind them, or is overtaking.

A headlight improves visibility, and a strobe mode can be used for emergencies. The horn has two tones: one gentle one for pedestrians, and a louder one for traffic.

Ford is looking for customer feedback right now, which the company will use to further shape the final e-bike. It’s unlikely we’ll be seeing this on the roads before the year is out. There’s no word on pricing or on the possibility of a consumer version, but we’ll be sure to track its progress.

Editors' Recommendations

The next big thing in science is already in your pocket
A researcher looks at a protein diagram on his monitor

Supercomputers are an essential part of modern science. By crunching numbers and performing calculations that would take eons for us humans to complete by ourselves, they help us do things that would otherwise be impossible, like predicting hurricane flight paths, simulating nuclear disasters, or modeling how experimental drugs might effect human cells. But that computing power comes at a price -- literally. Supercomputer-dependent research is notoriously expensive. It's not uncommon for research institutions to pay upward of $1,000 for a single hour of supercomputer use, and sometimes more, depending on the hardware that's required.

But lately, rather than relying on big, expensive supercomputers, more and more scientists are turning to a different method for their number-crunching needs: distributed supercomputing. You've probably heard of this before. Instead of relying on a single, centralized computer to perform a given task, this crowdsourced style of computing draws computational power from a distributed network of volunteers, typically by running special software on home PCs or smartphones. Individually, these volunteer computers aren't particularly powerful, but if you string enough of them together, their collective power can easily eclipse that of any centralized supercomputer -- and often for a fraction of the cost.

Read more
Why AI will never rule the world
image depicting AI, with neurons branching out from humanoid head

Call it the Skynet hypothesis, Artificial General Intelligence, or the advent of the Singularity -- for years, AI experts and non-experts alike have fretted (and, for a small group, celebrated) the idea that artificial intelligence may one day become smarter than humans.

According to the theory, advances in AI -- specifically of the machine learning type that's able to take on new information and rewrite its code accordingly -- will eventually catch up with the wetware of the biological brain. In this interpretation of events, every AI advance from Jeopardy-winning IBM machines to the massive AI language model GPT-3 is taking humanity one step closer to an existential threat. We're literally building our soon-to-be-sentient successors.

Read more
The best hurricane trackers for Android and iOS in 2022
Truck caught in gale force winds.

Hurricane season strikes fear into the hearts of those who live in its direct path, as well as distanced loved ones who worry for their safety. If you've ever sat up all night in a state of panic for a family member caught home alone in the middle of a destructive storm, dependent only on intermittent live TV reports for updates, a hurricane tracker app is a must-have tool. There are plenty of hurricane trackers that can help you prepare for these perilous events, monitor their progress while underway, and assist in recovery. We've gathered the best apps for following storms, predicting storm paths, and delivering on-the-ground advice for shelter and emergency services. Most are free to download and are ad-supported. Premium versions remove ads and add additional features.

You may lose power during a storm, so consider purchasing a portable power source,  just in case. We have a few handy suggestions for some of the best portable generators and power stations available. 

Read more