Canyon has said that it working to equip some of its high-end e-bikes with proximity beacons spottable by cars equipped with sensors. The German company says this will “help bicycles get noticed on the road” and that this would “[increase] the safety of cyclists.”
The fitting of V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything) communication beacons to bicycles has been trialled for several years—similar chipset technology is already deployed in static street furniture around the world—but the concept is controversial because it may increase the danger to road users not equipped with beacons.
Canyon said it is working with V2X company Autotalks. The Israeli company is currently being acquired by Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. subject to customary closing conditions.
In theory, V2X technology allows sensor-equipped motor vehicles to know in advance there’s a V2X-equipped bike nearby.
