Skoda DuoBell bicycle bell outsmarts ANC headphones
While smart bicycle bells with integrated AirTag are already available with products such as the AirBell Pro ($39 on Amazon), the Skoda DuoBell takes a different approach. The bicycle bell, which Skoda developed in collaboration with the University of Salford, does not use any electronics at all, but is still designed to ensure greater safety.
This is because the Skoda DuoBell is designed to be heard even when headphones with active noise cancellation (ANC) are worn. This works by the bicycle bell using a sound in a frequency range between 750 Hz and 780 Hz. According to Skoda, this is a gap in the ANC algorithms of most headphones, so that this noise should be heard despite active ANC. The bell is said to rotate frequencies irregularly in this frequency range to prevent ANC algorithms from adapting in time.
As the sound, which is very low for a bicycle bell, may not be as audible without headphones as a regular bicycle bell, a higher-pitched noise is produced at the same time - hence the name DuoBell. According to Skoda's tests, passers-by with ANC headphones should hear the DuoBell five seconds earlier and from a distance of up to 22 meters longer than a conventional bicycle bell.
Prices and availability
The Skoda DuoBell is currently only a concept; Skoda has no plans to actually launch the bicycle bell on the market. However, the underlying research is to be published so that it is also available to other bicycle bell manufacturers.
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