Could you come up with next big thing in the cycling industry?
Nesta, the UK’s innovation foundation, has two prizes up for grabs for innovative ideas. The first is a £50,000 prize for anyone who can come up with a good way of keeping bikes out of the hands of thieves.
The second prize is worth £25,000. It is open to UK workplaces with more than 10 employees. The winner must come up with a new way of increasing the number of people choosing to travel to work by bicycle. The deadline is the 12th of October 2012.
Both have the aim of improving the number of people who cycle in the UK.
For the £50,000 Hands off my Bike prize the winning innovation will be the one that requires the longest to steal the bike. The innovation will be also judged on the impact on the environment, cost and potential for commercialisation and/or implementation at scale. The deadline is the 18th of January 2013.
The prize money can go a long way towards setting up a company and getting an idea to market. The Cyclehoop by Anthony Lau is a classic example of a bike product that has grown out of competitions and the prize money that generates.
More information can be found on this Nesta page.
Showers.
And indoor storage for bike at destination.
A universal electronic tagging of new bikes and police with dedicated scanners to check second hand bike sales.
I also like electronic tagging idea. My ideas are mostly for worksites.
Yep, electronic tagging sounds good. A chip that is built in (for new bikes) or introduced into the bike frame so it is safe and can’t be removed easily. This should be mass produced so it is affordable for anyone.
I’m a journalist doing a story about the NESTA Hands of my Bike scheme. I’m looking for people who have had multiple bikes stolen (a piece written last year said there were people who had as many as four bikes stolen – I’d love to talk to someone). Also anyone with ideas who will be submitting to the NASTA competition (don’t worry, I won’t blow your idea by writing about the details). Anyone who can point me to some good statistical information would be really good too.