First working Social Bicycles GPS-enabled bike lock pictured, looking chunky

It's been a little over a month since we last saw the Social Bicycles (or SoBi) bike lock concept, a simple thing that could revolutionize bicycle loaning worldwide. Now, here's the first working prototype, a GPS-enabled device that affixes to the rear wheel of a bike set to be offered up to others. Those others can call up a mobile app to locate available rides and retrieve the password necessary to unlock them. Once done pedaling they can just lock the thing up again and it's immediately added to the queue of available human-powered chariots. This version is currently being tested and, while we're still waiting for a formal release date, we're also hoping the devices get a dose of miniaturization before then -- they currently look more like briefcases than bike locks.

First working Social Bicycles GPS-enabled bike lock pictured, looking chunky originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Sep 2010 13:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink CrunchGear  |  SoBi  | Email this | Comments

microsoft app gawker gizmodo