Iteris SmartCycle Detects Bicycles: Signals Awareness to Bicyclists

Iteris, Inc. provider of applied informatics for transportation and agriculture, announced the release of a series of new enhancements to its SmartCycle bicycle detection technology.

In addition to the company’s continued efforts to provide accurate detection of bicycles at signalized intersections, Iteris now offers the SmartCycle Bike Indicator – a mountable, easy-to-install device that alerts bicyclists of their detection.

Since its initial release in 2013, SmartCycle has been the first detection solution to differentiate between bicycles and vehicles. By making this distinction and providing special outputs to the traffic controller, traffic engineers can alter signal timing to ensure that bicyclists are given sufficient green signal time to safely cross an intersection.

In February 2018, the SmartCycle Bike Indicator won the 2018 BIG Innovation Award from the Business Intelligence Group.

“Iteris has always invested in ensuring that our object detection algorithms are world class,” says Todd Kreter, senior vice president and general manager, Roadway Sensors at Iteris. “As agencies are consistently demanding more from their detection systems, we will continue to provide value-add features like SmartCycle and address the growing population of bicyclists and other modes to support improved safety initiatives.”

“Safety, accessibility and peace of mind for people on bicycles are top priorities for us,“ says Bill Nesper, executive director of the League of American Bicyclists. “This new technology from Iteris helps tackle these issues head on and is testament to their ongoing work to make intersections safer for the bicycling community.”

The new SmartCycle bicycle detection algorithms are available now from Iteris, along with the SmartCycle Bike Indicator.

According to the most recent data from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, bicycle deaths reached a seven-year high in 2015, with a 13% increase on the previous year. By indicating to bicyclists that they have been detected, they will no longer have to risk dismounting in traffic to push a separate button, which in turn makes intersection timing more efficient. Bicyclists can now have peace of mind and avoid potential safety hazards when waiting to cross an intersection.