Hexagon has come up with a rearview system for bicycles that transmits a live image to your handlebar-mounted phone screen so you can see who’s steaming up behind you and watch your own demise take evasive action if they fail to see you in time.
The camera is housed in a unit that mounts under your saddle, which is then paired via Wi-Fi to your smartphone — which sits in a holder on your handlebars.
The device is also an automatic stop light and a pair of turn signals, among other things.
When it’s running, you’ll be able to see a rear view of the road, your current speed and your position on an on-screen map.
You can also live broadcast your ride to your social networks or record video to the SD card.
If you’re unfortunate enough to come off your bike, the app will detect this and send an SMS with your GPS coordinates to your chosen emergency contact. And if the camera is still working, it’ll continue to shoot video until someone presses stop or the battery runs out.
The mobile application also offers a parental control system where you can monitor your child's riding, their location and the time they arrive at their destination.
There are two versions of the camera: the Hexagon, which features side blinkers and additional battery bays and starts at £144 / $179, and the more basic Hexagon Light, which drops the turn signals and starts at £104 / $129.
The Hexagon app is available for iOS and Android. There's no Windows Phone app, which might upset the three people in the world who own a Windows phone.
To add a bit more functionality to what is already a bit of a jack of all trades device, the Hexagon comes with a 6000mAh power bank, which sits under the phone mount so you can recharge your phone when you’re out and about.
The Hexagon is not the only rearview bike camera on the market — Cycliq makes a rear light with an integrated camera called the Cycliq Fly6 — but it goes a step further by putting a live stream of the rear view in front of you on the smartphone app.
The company behind the product says that it was developed with safety in mind: “There were over 900 cyclists who were killed and there were an estimated 494,000 emergency department visits due to bicycle-related injuries in the US in 2013. Installing Hexagon will greatly increase the safety of your bicycle in city and country riding, as you will have rearview camera, automatic stop and turn signals. During the use of the device, if you fall down, Hexagon will send an alert SMS to your friends or family.”
The Hexagon launches on 13 March and you can register at Coming Soon Tech to be notified of the launch.