MIT’s Copenhagen Wheel just took the 2010 James Dyson Award for the US.

Here’s what it is:

• A self-charging motorized rear wheel that fits on existing bicycles
• A trip/traffic planner that syncs with your docked smart phone
• A social networking tool (throwing social networking into everything is the new putting a clock into everything)

See the demo video for more information:

At a projected cost of $600 per wheel, not to mention a big red “steal me” target of a design, I think you’d better get a good cable lock for this sucker if it ever becomes a reality. But from the sound of things, it may be GPS equipped meaning you might be able to track it down if it gets lost.

Go ahead, purists, tell us all about how this is the worst thing to happen to cycling.

[via core77]