LED Bike Lighting System and USB-C Power Bank


Gloworm Performance Products is a world leader in bike and adventure lighting with its series of high quality, high-performance, LED lighting systems. Beta Solutions has been privileged to work with Gloworm in assisting with the design and development of its new G2.0 lighting product range - creating a new standard in performance, technology and user experience. We are proud to have been able to bring to life its vision for its new G2.0 lighting products, which are now selling by the thousands all over the world.


During the initial concept generation stage, we were able to leverage our previous experience (hundreds of previous projects), and provide Gloworm with value-adding new ideas. Together, we were able to develop a robust, ambitious and inspiring project technical specification. 

LED Light System and Bluetooth Remote. (Photo credit: Gloworm)


Gloworm then engaged Beta Solutions specifically in the areas of: 

  • Electronics hardware development for the G2.0 Power Banks.
  • Firmware design for the G2.0 Power Banks, BLE Remote, and Lightsets.
  • Prototyping each of the designs for verification and firmware development.
  • Testing - both of the engineering prototypes and of the final end-to-end product. NB: Testing formed a large part of the project, as the product contained many advanced and complex features - all of which needed to be tested and validated in order to create a seamless user experience for the customer.
  • Design for mass manufacturing - including developing factory testing procedures and software.
  • Partnering with a software development company to integrate the Power Banks and Lightsets into the new Gloworm app over BLE.


 The video below shows off some of the new features of the G2.0 product line:

The electronic hardware development for the ‘Gloworm Power Pack (G2.0)’ was a reasonably involved undertaking. It required the design of:

  • The power bank with a single USB-C port, which supported the USB Power Delivery protocol, plus various other charging standards.


Powerbank. (Photo credit: Gloworm)


  • A bidirectional power supply for both charging and discharging at various voltages and powers. This power supply needed to be able to accept various voltages and currents from the USB-C connector and also deliver power from the same connector from the battery. It also needed to be a highly efficient design to reduce heat generation internally and also to increase runtime of the battery.
  • An internal temperature monitoring system - including a novel feature, which communicates with the light over USB Power Delivery ‘vendor-defined-messages’ - to instruct the power bank (when required) to limit power consumption to reduce heat generation.
  • Battery overcharge, undercharge, short-circuit protection system to keep the lithium cells operating within their safety margins.
  • The integration of a rigid-flex PCB with the electronics into a highly constrained space within the power bank enclosure.



Power Bank Flex PCB Design.

  • Thermal dissipation and exchange system to keep the electronics cool while delivering high power in a compact form.
  • An OLED screen for the user interface to display time remaining and UI elements/information.
  • A waterproof connector for biking in all weather conditions.
  • Bluetooth low energy for communications with the smart phone app.
  • Accelerometer to detect orientation to wake up the OLED display.
  • Low power electronics and firmware, so that the batteries can be left for years without depleting themselves.


We also developed the firmware for the ‘Gloworm Power Pack (G2.0)’, as well as the firmware for its new range of G2.0 Lightsets, and the new ‘Wireless TX Remote (G2.0)’. These all had to coordinate and operate in 'symphony' over bluetooth low energy (BLE). 


The development of the firmware for these systems required the design of:

  • Bluetooth low energy communications.
  • An over-the-air firmware update service from the new Android/iOS app for both the Power Bank and the Lightsets.
  • Configuration and control of the Lightsets from the app.
  • USB Power Delivery.
  • Thermal regulation and limiting.
  • LED driver control.
  • High power rapid battery charging control.
  • OLED user interface.
  • Battery management.
  • Fault tolerance and recovery.

Gloworm Link App (Photo credt: Gloworm)


Conclusion

We are proud to have worked closely with Gloworm (from concept to production) on the successful electronics development of the new Gloworm G2.0 products. The product is now in production and receiving positive feedback from its customers around the world! 

See this glowing (5 star) product review of the X2 and XSV Gloworm G2.0 lightsets from Guy Kesteven at Bike Perfect.


* All the content in this article, including imagery, has been approved by our client for publication on this website.

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