Yamaha Motor Co Ltd exhibited the "PAS er" power-assisted bicycle that automatically adjusts the output of the motor in accordance with the rider's heart rate at Tokyo Motor Show 2009.
As the heart rate accelerates, the output of the motor increases to help the rider.
The heart rate is measured by a sensor equipped in the right-hand side of the handle. The output is adjusted so that the heart rate of the rider does not exceed 110 to 120 per minute, which is regarded as an appropriate rate for aerobic exercise, Yamaha Motor said.
An automatic transmission and a drive motor with a rated output of 150W are located in the center of the bicycle. Also, the company employed the "shaft drive mechanism," which uses a shaft drive to transmit power to the rear wheel, instead of a chain to make the design simple. Though the mechanism is expensive and heavy for a bicycle, Yamaha Motor employed it to present an image of a future bicycle, the company said.
The PAS er is a two-wheel-drive bicycle because it has a second motor with a rated output of 100W in the hub of the front wheel. The second motor is equipped with a regenerative braking system to charge lithium-ion batteries.
Though Yamaha Motor did not disclose the capacity of the battery, it said that the capacity is equivalent to that of a normal power-assisted bicycle. So, it is probably about 150Wh. An LCD panel mounted on the handle displays the speed of the bicycle and the amount of consumed calories.
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