Our Crowdfunding Groups
Summary
Autocycle hopes to make biking an accessible mode of transport for those that don’t own or can't bring their own bike onto campus. Bike shares have been on campus for several years now attempting to achieve the same goals; however, they have only achieved limited success.
The main problem facing these bike shares is that they require the rider to first walk from their starting location to a docking station, drive to another docking station and walking to their end location. In many cases, taking a bike can take longer than just walking! Autocycle hopes to address this inefficient process by creating a bicycle that can navigate and drive itself from one point to another, allowing for the rider to call a bike to their location and allow the bike to drive back to the station at the end of the trip.
Another issue with current bikeshare systems is that some hubs end up having a lot of bikes and others are left with none. This is common in pretty much all bikeshare systems where people might have to get from point A to point B but not the other way around. In china, where bikeshares are incredibly prevalent, bikes end up stacked alongside the side of the street. Police have had to impound these bikes to alleviate their congestion!
That's right. That's not a field of flowers. That's a field of bikes.
We believe that Team Autocycle's autonomous bicycle will be able to alleviate both the problems of convenience and congestion. Making bike shares more accessible will allow more people to choose to bike to class or work instead of driving. Having a larger biking population not only serves to directly decrease our carbon footprint, but serves as a reminder to others around us to live greener lives!
Why does Team Autocycle need Funding?
We believe that our project could be part of the future of bike shares, but making it isn't easy! The material and machine costs for building the Autocycle has been our largest limiting factor throughout the project thus far. With your help, we can continue development of the prototype and showcase a working model of the Autocycle by the end of our research. Thank you for supporting research into a sustainable and exciting future of tech.
Gifts in support of the University of Maryland are accepted and managed by the University of Maryland College Park Foundation, Inc., an affiliated 501(c)(3) organization authorized by the Board of Regents. Contributions to the University of Maryland are tax deductible as allowed by law. Please see your tax advisor for details.
Your donation will allow us to purchase sensors for the Autocycle! We need these sensors for the stability and navigation of the Autocycle.
Your donation will allow us to purchase tools that we need to do specialized work on the Autocycle!
Your donation will go a long way towards funding our more complex electronics like micro controllers, battery packs and much more!
Your donation will allow us to fund some of the more expensive areas of our research. It will allow us to buy raw materials to manufacture the custom parts that we need for the Autocycle.
This donation will be a massive help, enabling us to purchase expensive torque motors and batteries that are imperative to the success of our project!