Autonomous Bike Project with Auburn University
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Around the same time Boston University committed to the self-driving bike project, I shared another dream with my longtime friend and fellow racer, Johnny Pilcher—a system that would allow blind riders to bike alongside friends or family. Johnny’s daughter, Shay, happens to work at Auburn University, just 45 minutes from my home. She connected me with a professor and a team of engineering students, and together we began shaping this new vision.
My idea was simple but powerful: a two-bike system where a sighted person rides the lead bike and a blind person rides the follow bike—each pedaling independently. When I met with the Auburn team for the first time, I shared this vision. The professor suggested using a fiducial marker mounted on the back of the lead bike, which cameras on the follow bike could track. Using that visual data, the computer would automatically guide the follow bike’s steering—a concept known as “platooning.”
To help get things started, I donated two recumbent bikes—a tadpole (two wheels in front, one in back) and a delta (two in back, one in front)—along with a junior dragster rack and pinion and other parts. The students began work in the fall of 2024, building the hardware, electronics, and batteries, then diving into the challenge of coding. The computer determines the distance between bikes by analyzing the fiducial’s size, while the lead rider handles navigation and obstacle avoidance.
The blind rider, on the follow bike, pedals and manages distance using verbal feedback from a speaker and a headset connection with the lead rider. The computer controls steering and emergency braking. At the end of the spring 2025 semester, I had the incredible opportunity to ride the follow bike myself—and it worked beautifully. The new Auburn team is now focused on safety refinements and enhancing communication between riders.
This technology opens a world of possibilities. It allows blind riders, including competitive cyclists and triathletes, to ride and race on their own strength—not as passengers on a tandem. Imagine a future where a blind family member can ride beside loved ones, or where a blind child pedals to school alongside friends, parks their bike, and walks inside with a cane while the bike’s solar charger refuels its batteries for the ride home.
The potential for independence, exercise, and social connection is limitless.
Stay tuned as this groundbreaking work continues to move forward.
– Dan Parker
