Emily Brooke, pictured here with operations manager Will Dunk, gave the Blaze a green laser because its wavelength is most visible to the human eye Alex Lake

'Bat signal' laser lights will be affixed to every hire cycle in London after a successful trial.

Created by London designer Emily Brooke, the system uses white LED lights to project a green laser image of a bicycle onto the ground six metres ahead of a bike.


The virtual cycle lane created by the lights increases visibility of cyclists, and can save lives -- Brooke told WIRED in 2013 that 79 percent of bikes are hit when going straight ahead. The biggest killer is being caught in a blind spot, she said -- "so I thought, I'll just project myself into their view."

Initially funded through a wildly successful Kickstarter campaign, the lights were also produced after Brooke won a (Santander-funded) place on an Entrepreneurship Program in Boston.

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Earlier this year 250 Santander bicycles in London, known (incorrectly) as Boris bikes, were fitted with the Blaze Laserlight system. Three-quarters of people asked said the lights made them feel more confident cycling on London's treacherous roads.

Now Transport for London (TfL) has said all 11,500 cycles will be fitted with the system. Santander will pay £768,000 of the £860,000 it will cost to fit the lights, with the remainder being picked up by TfL.

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"It's fantastic that our Santander Cycles will be able to bring light to the dark side of the street with these nifty Laserlights," said Mayor of London Boris Johnson in a press statement. "We're always looking to develop new and innovative ways to help people cycle around the Capital more safely and these green lights will help all our cycle hire users to stay seen at night."


Brooke welcomed the deal, and added that after two years (and sales in 52 countries) the association would take the lights "to the next level and will make thousands of cyclists more visible and safer on our roads."

Predictably, given the current cultural domination of its subject matter, the deal will be promoted via a series of Star Wars-themed videos featuring Santander's Jenson Button, Rory McIlroy and Jessica Ennis-Hill.

Disclaimer: WIRED editor David Rowan, who is an investor in Blaze, was not involved in the commissioning or writing of this story.