Cycling-monitoring system: sensing cycling performance via a pedal-integrated inertial measurement unit

With increasing accident rates for elderly cyclists when using electrically powered bicycles, behavioural models for cyclists that consider the underlying functional and cognitive processes are required. Such models must be generated based on experiments conducted in realistic driving conditions, since laboratory studies can cover the complex influences of cycling only to a limited degree. Consequently, this paper introduces a bicycle-monitoring system that was designed to capture all relevant external and internal states to be considered for the conduction of driving behavioural studies in realistic (uncontrolled) environments. Furthermore, algorithms for detecting the turning behaviour and the pedalling frequency by way of a pedal-integrated inertial measurement unit are introduced, and their sensitivity is evaluated in a pilot study.