A bicycle wheel that captures energy from pedalling before releasing it to power cyclists up hills has been hailed as one of the world's best new inventions.
The Copenhagen Wheel could be on sale in the UK as soon as next June
The Copenhagen Wheel is fitted with a hub containing a small motor charged up solely by the bike's movement and braking.
The "engine", designed into a hub on the back wheel, is controlled through a rider’s smartphone docked on the handlebars.
It connects to the hub of the wheel using Bluetooth, which can also lock the bike.
Carlo RattiThe bike wheel contains all you need so that no sensors or additional electronics need to be added to the frame and an existing bike can be retrofitted with the blink of an eye.
The invention, created at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has won the US heat of the James Dyson Award for the best inventions of 2010.
"The Copenhagen Wheel is a 21st century upgrade to the bicycle," said Dyson, the British inventor and founder of the international design award.
"The wheel uses a technology similar to the KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System), which has radically changed Formula One racing over the past couple of years," said developer Carlo Ratti.
"When you brake, your kinetic energy is recuperated by an electric motor and then stored by batteries within the wheel, so that you can have it back to you when you need it.
"The bike wheel contains all you need so that no sensors or additional electronics need to be added to the frame and an existing bike can be retrofitted with the blink of an eye."
As well as controlling the power release and locking the bike, riders can use the phone to change gears.
The gadget also maps pollution levels, traffic and road conditions.
The wheel is in its final prototyping phase and is due to go on sale next June - at about £380 per wheel.
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