Ofo to Roll Out Smog-Filtering Bikes by End of Year
New smog-filtering bikes are set to hit the streets of Beijing by the end of the year, reports Quartz.
Earlier this year, news broke that shared-bike company Ofo was partnering with Dutch Studio Roosegaarde to develop air-purifying bikes (see mind-blowing artistic rendering, above).
It appears the project has been a success. Daan Roosegaarde (of, naturally, Roosegaarde) has announced that the bikes will be released by the end of 2017.
The bicycles purify the air using a module located between the bike's handle bars. The module catches polluted air, filters it and then releases bubbles of clean towards the cyclist's face.
The Rotterdam-based studio originally unveiled the “Smog Free Bicycles” at a TED conference in April. And if the name sounds familiar to you, yes — this is the same Roosegaarde that installed a giant "Smog Free Tower" in 798 Art District last year.
Given Ofo's 6.5 million bikes in over 150 cities and three million daily users, Roosegaarde hopes their invention can have a lasting impact on China's air.
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