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Skoda develops bike bell that can bypass noise-cancelling headphones, and then gives the technology away for free
By
Josh Croxton
published
The clever dual-frequency design can trick algorithms and be heard from 50 feet further away than traditional bells
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When you think about new, exciting and innovative tech on bikes, I bet you don’t think about bike bells.
But today, that’s about to change, as I genuinely think this is one of the coolest and smartest innovations I’ve seen all year.
Forget 32inch wheels, 1x drivetrains, 42mm road tyres and 3D-printed saddles, this is the big one.
Article continues below
It’s called the DuoBell, and it comes from car brand Škoda, in conjunction with the University of Salford. And what’s even more incredible, the brand has decided not to gatekeep the tech but instead give it away to the world for free, to make our world a safer place.
Perhaps ironically, despite Škoda being a car brand, and driving and cycling often being at odds with each other, the problem this bell solves isn’t one related to cars, but pedestrians.
Škoda says pedestrian accidents have gone up by 30% in recent years, and attributes some of that increase to noise-cancelling headphones.
Over recent years, noise-cancelling headphones have become prevalent, and it’s not uncommon for pedestrians to wear noise-cancelling headphones while walking on shared-use paths, crossing the road, or in many other walks of life.
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Among the noises cancelled by said headphones is the ding of a traditional bike bell, the polite “excuse me, on your right”, or perhaps the buzz of your noisy freehub as you coast up behind the newly oblivious jogger.
Inside each pair of noise-cancelling headphones is a microphone and a computer chip with a clever algorithm. The microphone listens to ambient noise, and the algorithm flips the soundwave upside down, playing it back to you to effectively cancel out the soundwave when it reaches your eardrum.
Škoda’s DuoBell exploits a weakness in said bell with a short, sharp sound that is the perfect frequency – 750 hertz – to bypass over-ear headphones’ foam padding, and is short enough that the algorithm isn’t able to process it and flip it before it’s over. They then added in a second frequency at 2000Hz, which people actually recognise as a bike bell, and DuoBell was born.
In testing, the brand found that the DuoBell was consistently audible from 50 feet (15.24m) further away than traditional bells when wearing noise-cancelling headphones.
What I love about this story the most, though, is that Škoda isn’t gatekeeping the technology for its own profit. It is instead just giving the science away to the world for free via an open-source whitepaper, in a bid to make our cities safer. Excellent stuff.
That does mean you’ll have to wait a while until you see noise-cancelling bells in our best bike bells buying guide, though.
Josh is Associate Editor of Cyclingnews – leading our content on the best bikes, kit and the latest breaking tech stories from the pro peloton. He has been with us since the summer of 2019 and throughout that time he’s covered everything from buyer’s guides and deals to the latest tech news and reviews.
On the bike, Josh has been riding and racing for over 15 years. He started out racing cross country in his teens back when 26-inch wheels and triple chainsets were still mainstream, but he found favour in road racing in his early 20s, racing at a local and national level for Somerset-based Team Tor 2000. These days he rides indoors for convenience and fitness, and outdoors for fun on road, gravel, ‘cross and cross-country bikes, the latter usually with his two dogs in tow.
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1The men’s and women’s Paris-Roubaix are both on the same day this year – great plan for more spectators, or disadvantaging the women’s race?
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2Skoda develops bike bell that can bypass noise-cancelling headphones, and then gives the technology away for free
-
3Itzulia Basque Country stage 5 LIVE – Paul Seixas remains in the yellow jersey for the queen stage
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4‘In cycling, you had to choose between performance and safety’ – Van Rysel announces a new airbag-equipped aero skinsuit
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5‘Don’t invent stories where there aren’t any’ – Lidl-Trek teammate defends Juan Ayuso after social media criticism over Basque Country withdrawal
Skoda develops bike bell that can bypass noise-cancelling headphones, and then gives the technology away for free
By
Josh Croxton
published
The clever dual-frequency design can trick algorithms and be heard from 50 feet further away than traditional bells
-
Facebook
-
X
-
Pinterest
-
Email
Follow us
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
When you think about new, exciting and innovative tech on bikes, I bet you don’t think about bike bells.
But today, that’s about to change, as I genuinely think this is one of the coolest and smartest innovations I’ve seen all year.
Forget 32inch wheels, 1x drivetrains, 42mm road tyres and 3D-printed saddles, this is the big one.
Article continues below
It’s called the DuoBell, and it comes from car brand Škoda, in conjunction with the University of Salford. And what’s even more incredible, the brand has decided not to gatekeep the tech but instead give it away to the world for free, to make our world a safer place.
Perhaps ironically, despite Škoda being a car brand, and driving and cycling often being at odds with each other, the problem this bell solves isn’t one related to cars, but pedestrians.
Škoda says pedestrian accidents have gone up by 30% in recent years, and attributes some of that increase to noise-cancelling headphones.
Over recent years, noise-cancelling headphones have become prevalent, and it’s not uncommon for pedestrians to wear noise-cancelling headphones while walking on shared-use paths, crossing the road, or in many other walks of life.
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Among the noises cancelled by said headphones is the ding of a traditional bike bell, the polite “excuse me, on your right”, or perhaps the buzz of your noisy freehub as you coast up behind the newly oblivious jogger.
Inside each pair of noise-cancelling headphones is a microphone and a computer chip with a clever algorithm. The microphone listens to ambient noise, and the algorithm flips the soundwave upside down, playing it back to you to effectively cancel out the soundwave when it reaches your eardrum.
Škoda’s DuoBell exploits a weakness in said bell with a short, sharp sound that is the perfect frequency – 750 hertz – to bypass over-ear headphones’ foam padding, and is short enough that the algorithm isn’t able to process it and flip it before it’s over. They then added in a second frequency at 2000Hz, which people actually recognise as a bike bell, and DuoBell was born.
In testing, the brand found that the DuoBell was consistently audible from 50 feet (15.24m) further away than traditional bells when wearing noise-cancelling headphones.
What I love about this story the most, though, is that Škoda isn’t gatekeeping the technology for its own profit. It is instead just giving the science away to the world for free via an open-source whitepaper, in a bid to make our cities safer. Excellent stuff.
That does mean you’ll have to wait a while until you see noise-cancelling bells in our best bike bells buying guide, though.
Josh is Associate Editor of Cyclingnews – leading our content on the best bikes, kit and the latest breaking tech stories from the pro peloton. He has been with us since the summer of 2019 and throughout that time he’s covered everything from buyer’s guides and deals to the latest tech news and reviews.
On the bike, Josh has been riding and racing for over 15 years. He started out racing cross country in his teens back when 26-inch wheels and triple chainsets were still mainstream, but he found favour in road racing in his early 20s, racing at a local and national level for Somerset-based Team Tor 2000. These days he rides indoors for convenience and fitness, and outdoors for fun on road, gravel, ‘cross and cross-country bikes, the latter usually with his two dogs in tow.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
-
1The men’s and women’s Paris-Roubaix are both on the same day this year – great plan for more spectators, or disadvantaging the women’s race?
-
2Skoda develops bike bell that can bypass noise-cancelling headphones, and then gives the technology away for free
-
3Itzulia Basque Country stage 5 LIVE – Paul Seixas remains in the yellow jersey for the queen stage
-
4‘In cycling, you had to choose between performance and safety’ – Van Rysel announces a new airbag-equipped aero skinsuit
-
5‘Don’t invent stories where there aren’t any’ – Lidl-Trek teammate defends Juan Ayuso after social media criticism over Basque Country withdrawal
Skoda develops bike bell that can bypass noise-cancelling headphones, and then gives the technology away for free
By
Josh Croxton
published
The clever dual-frequency design can trick algorithms and be heard from 50 feet further away than traditional bells
-
Facebook
-
X
-
Pinterest
-
Email
Follow us
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
When you think about new, exciting and innovative tech on bikes, I bet you don’t think about bike bells.
But today, that’s about to change, as I genuinely think this is one of the coolest and smartest innovations I’ve seen all year.
Forget 32inch wheels, 1x drivetrains, 42mm road tyres and 3D-printed saddles, this is the big one.
Article continues below
It’s called the DuoBell, and it comes from car brand Škoda, in conjunction with the University of Salford. And what’s even more incredible, the brand has decided not to gatekeep the tech but instead give it away to the world for free, to make our world a safer place.
Perhaps ironically, despite Škoda being a car brand, and driving and cycling often being at odds with each other, the problem this bell solves isn’t one related to cars, but pedestrians.
Škoda says pedestrian accidents have gone up by 30% in recent years, and attributes some of that increase to noise-cancelling headphones.
Over recent years, noise-cancelling headphones have become prevalent, and it’s not uncommon for pedestrians to wear noise-cancelling headphones while walking on shared-use paths, crossing the road, or in many other walks of life.
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Among the noises cancelled by said headphones is the ding of a traditional bike bell, the polite “excuse me, on your right”, or perhaps the buzz of your noisy freehub as you coast up behind the newly oblivious jogger.
Inside each pair of noise-cancelling headphones is a microphone and a computer chip with a clever algorithm. The microphone listens to ambient noise, and the algorithm flips the soundwave upside down, playing it back to you to effectively cancel out the soundwave when it reaches your eardrum.
Škoda’s DuoBell exploits a weakness in said bell with a short, sharp sound that is the perfect frequency – 750 hertz – to bypass over-ear headphones’ foam padding, and is short enough that the algorithm isn’t able to process it and flip it before it’s over. They then added in a second frequency at 2000Hz, which people actually recognise as a bike bell, and DuoBell was born.
In testing, the brand found that the DuoBell was consistently audible from 50 feet (15.24m) further away than traditional bells when wearing noise-cancelling headphones.
What I love about this story the most, though, is that Škoda isn’t gatekeeping the technology for its own profit. It is instead just giving the science away to the world for free via an open-source whitepaper, in a bid to make our cities safer. Excellent stuff.
That does mean you’ll have to wait a while until you see noise-cancelling bells in our best bike bells buying guide, though.
[analyse_source url=”https://www.cyclingnews.com/cycling-tech-components/skoda-develops-bike-bell-that-can-bypass-noise-cancelling-headphones-and-then-gives-the-technology-away-for-free/”]