A bring-your-own bike lane, created by lasers

prototypes
When I told Alex Tee that I spent two years cycling around San Francisco before moving to Massachusetts, he asked, "Why did you leave?"

Like any other avid cyclist, Tee, a mechanical engineer at the design firm Altitude Inc. (www.altitudeinc.com), knows that Boston's streets are some of the meanest around. Boston's drivers, for example, seem unable to turn their heads when making lane changes. And most of the self-propelled commuters and messengers I know can speak of being "doored" by an oblivious driver as he emerges from his parked "death monster" SUV.

Tee and Evan Gant, an industrial designer at Altitude, have found a new way to keep drivers and cyclists apart. The idea: a bring-your-own bike lane, fashioned by lasers pointed at the asphalt beside your bike that extend up to 10 feet behind you.

Tee and Gant are currently building a prototype of the device, called LightLane, which they hope to have ready in a few months.

By mounting the LightLane under your bicycle seat, you would boost your visibility to nighttime drivers and (hopefully) mark some extra turf around your ride.

Conventional "blinky lights" help motorists spot you, Tee said. "But they only highlight the center part of the bike. A driver might still clip the handlebars."

In the current Altitude concept, the LightLane's red lasers stencil out the familiar lines and symbols denoting a bike path on the ground behind the bike. The illuminated path also comes up on the sides of the bike.

Tee and Gant are also experimenting with different colors and orientations for the lasers. "We want something that captures the attention (of others on the road) in a new and fun way," Tee said.

The Altitude guys must also find a way to ensure that puddles or loose mounts do not cause the LightLane's lasers to fire off in dangerous directions.

Keeping the cost down is another challenge. Keeping it under $50 (the original target) no longer looks feasible, Tee said. He and Grant hope to have a product ready for the October 2009 Interbike bicycle trade show in Providence.

Location

iPhone app offers booze clues

An upcoming iPhone app will show you the way to the next whiskey bar.

Actually, make that your next source of vodka, tequila, or rum. Booze maker Proximo Spirits says its new iPhone "liquor locator" will lead you to bars and package stores selling its Three Olives vodka, 1800 tequila, and other brands. Care for a nip of Proximo's Gran Centenario? The liquor locator app (you can try the online locator at www.proximospirits.com) will point you toward Sunset Cantina on Commonwealth Avenue or one of the pool halls near Fenway Park.

But the best part is how it works. To start a search, you shake your iPhone, which in turn jiggles a cocktail shaker on the screen. The app then notes your GPS coordinates and tosses up a Google map, marked with the nearest purveyors of your favorite Proximo-brand booze.