Škoda is pretty well-known for messing with things that aren’t related to cars. Now, it has done it again. Though this time it kind of went back to its roots of making bicycles. No. It is not a bicycle. But it is an essential part of a bicycle—a bicycle bell, to be precise, called DuoBell.
Unlike ordinary bicycle bells, the Škoda DuoBell is engineered to penetrate active noise cancellation (ANC), allowing pedestrians wearing noise-canceling headphones to hear an approaching cyclist’s bell. It was developed with researchers and audiologists from the University of Salford after studies found that conventional bell sounds could be suppressed by ANC algorithms.
The researchers discovered a narrow “safety gap” between 750 and 780 Hz that noise-canceling headphones struggle to eliminate. DuoBell produces sound within that range while a second resonator emits a more familiar higher-frequency ring. A four-part striking mechanism then delivers rapid, irregular strikes that the headphones’ predictive algorithms cannot process quickly enough to cancel.
In other words, Škoda did not simply make the bell louder. It went all science-sy to create a bell that produces sound that is harder for ANC to erase.
Testing reportedly gave headphone-wearing pedestrians up to 22 meters (72 feet) of additional reaction distance, equivalent to around five extra seconds. Real-world trials were also conducted on London streets with Deliveroo couriers, who reportedly liked the prototypes enough to ask if they could keep them.
The fully mechanical bell borrows its colors, materials, and surface treatments from Škoda’s Modern Solid automotive design language. It also wears the latest Škoda logo, just in case anyone wonders why their bicycle bell looks like it has been through an automotive design studio.
DuoBell is currently a research-backed prototype rather than a retail product, so there is no price or release date. As Volve did with seatbelts, Škoda intends to make its research publicly available, allowing other manufacturers to develop safer bells of their own. Meanwhile, you can learn more about Duobell here.
Images: Škoda.
