Smarter pedaling

Bosch brings artificial intelligence to e-bikes

Bosch's smart "Range Control" is designed to support e-bikers on tours.

(Bild: Bosch)

Bosch is bringing artificial intelligence to e-bikes. At the Eurobike bicycle trade fair in Frankfurt, Germany, the technology group presented its AI solution "Range Control", which makes it easier to plan tours. The navigation software calculates the battery level with which you will arrive at your destination.

The system takes into account various parameters such as the system weight, the altitude profile of the route and individual driving behavior. As the AI learns from the live data, the forecasts become increasingly precise over time.

At the start of the tour, drivers can also specify the minimum battery level with which they want to arrive at their destination. In this case, the system dynamically regulates the electric motor and adjusts the motor assistance as required.

AI should also help with route planning. The system learns over time, for example, which road types, which surface or which inclines are preferred and at what speed, and suggests a corresponding route.

AI will help with route planning and battery management in the future.

(Bild: Bosch)

Automatic on board
At the trade fair in Frankfurt, Bosch also presented new types of electric gear shifting developed together with specialists from TRP and Shimano. In future, e-bikes will be able to shift gears fully automatically if desired. Inexperienced e-bikers in particular are sometimes unsure about selecting the right gear and can focus fully on riding and the traffic environment with automatic shifting.

"This makes e-bike riding more comfortable, more individual and also safer," said Claus Fleischer, Managing Director of Bosch eBike Systems. The Bosch subsidiary is one of the largest suppliers of e-bike components such as motors, batteries and software for connected bicycles and supplies bicycle manufacturers such as Centurion, Cresta, Flyer, Gazelle, Kalkhoff, Kettler, KTM, Riese & Müller and Velo de Ville.

In future, shifting gears can be left to the bike.

(Bild: Bosch)

Appeal to politicians
According to Fleischer, the demand for e-bikes is "still good". "But it has also been better in the past." The industry is experiencing a "headwind from politics". Among other things, this relates to the "lack of courage when it comes to cycling infrastructure and the expansion of cycle paths".

Fleischer emphasized that politicians need to recognize that the bicycle and the e-bike are a "great alternative for mobility in the city, but also for people's leisure activities". "Everyone who rides a bike is actively moving."