---
title: A Self-Riding Bike? A Student Team Designed One for a Good Reason
date: 2022-04-08T05:30:00-04:00
author: University of Maryland
canonical_url: "https://today.umd.edu/a-self-riding-bike-a-student-team-has-good-reasons-why"
section: Articles
---
# A Self-Riding Bike? A Student Team Designed One for a Good Reason

*April 8, 2022* — by [Shannon Clark M.Jour. ’22](/author/shannon-clark-m-jour-22)


> Tech Advance Could Charge Up Bikeshare Programs

*Ezgif 1 45b3140c4e — A computerized bike fights for balance in a simulation of Team Autocycle's technology. The team, below, is presenting its work at today's Gemstone Honors Program Thesis Conference.*

If you’ve ever sprinted to the bikeshare rack in hopes of getting an electric-powered push to help you make it to class on time, the last thing you want to find is e-bike emptiness. But what if, as you stood there, a riderless bike silently glided up for you to hop on? Would you think it’s haunted … or just be grateful?

An undergraduate team in the University of Maryland’s [Gemstone Honors Program](https://gemstone.umd.edu/) is working to make this vision of autonomous bike return a reality. Over the last four years, Team [Autocycle](https://autocycle.io/) has developed a self-balancing and self-navigating prototype, and will present it at the program’s annual Thesis Conference today.

“Imagine you have 10 minutes between classes; it seems really inconvenient if your (return) hub is on the other side of campus,” said Evan Ruderman ‘22, an aerospace engineering major. “We thought it would be fun if you could call up a bike to (your location), and the idea sprung from there.”


*Team Autocycle with bike*



**Sidebar note:**

Along with Team Autocycle, 11 other Gemstone teams are presenting their work today at the [Gemstone Thesis Conference](https://gemstone.umd.edu/node/120), where senior teams present and defend their research in front of an audience, including a panel of experts.

- **Team** [**Brain**](https://teambrain.github.io/website/) is looking to correlate biomarker levels and lifestyle choices with the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.
- **Team** [**Change**](https://gemsteamchange.wixsite.com/change) focuses on revolutionary gene editing technology to correct genetic defects associated with Huntington's disease.
- **Team** [**Flow** ](https://gemstoneflow.weebly.com/)aims to add to the body of literature on sexual health and menstrual education, particularly in the United States.
- **Team** [**Gecko**](https://theprojectgecko.com/) is developing a 3D-printed adhesive system through magnetic ink.
- **Team** [**Lemma**](https://teamlemma.weebly.com/) is working to create a mathematical model that can capture the spread of extremist ideologies over social media.
- **Team** [**Mind**](https://mind2022.wixsite.com/umdgemstone) uses deep learning models to identify neurophysiological features associated with psychiatric disorders.
- **Team** [**Mutate**](https://teammutate.weebly.com/) is trying to create a universal flu vaccine using plants to grow antigens instead of the currently accepted method, chicken eggs. ​
- **Team** [**Pass**](https://team-pass.github.io/) is working to design an online user authentication scheme that is more secure, usable and deployable than traditional passwords.
- **Team** [**Print**](https://teamb-arm.weebly.com/) is working on technology to repair 3D-printed structures with *in situ* conformal 3D printing.
- **Team** [**Produce**](https://swgems.wixsite.com/produce) is developing an active packaging food system—a biodegradable product to manipulate foods’ molecular structure to increase shelf life and cut waste.
- **Team** [**Reach**](https://gemstoneteamreach.wixsite.com/2022) is exploring the relationship between mental workload and performance during long-term learning of a novel motor task.





**Topics:** [Campus & Community](https://today.umd.edu/tags/campus-community)


**Tags:** [Aerospace Engineering](https://today.umd.edu/topic/aerospace-engineering)


**Units:** [A. James Clark School of Engineering](https://today.umd.edu/topic/james-clark-school-engineering), [Office of Undergraduate Studies](https://today.umd.edu/topic/office-undergraduate-studies)