Motorcycle Tech – What’s On The Horizon?
The future of motorcycles is here – and no, it is not electric motorcycles. Big names in the motorcycle industry including Honda and BMW have been spied on and caught experimenting with autonomous bikes, according to Gigaom. Autonomous or unmanned vehicles are not really a new concept particularly in cars, as Auto-Auto.info reveals. However, if all goes as planned, this means major innovation in the two-wheeled vehicle world.
In 2004, there was an unmanned motorcycle introduced to the world dubbed as the “Ghostrider”, as AMD.com shows. This AMD64-powered motorcycle was not for sale, but rather a custom creation spawned for a race that involved 250 miles of off-road competition. It was sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Administration (DARPA).
The Hurdles
When producing an autonomous motorcycle, it’s not enough that it’s hardy. Sure, you’ll love a bike that you can ride through the rock-strewn desert grounds or a rough terrain. However, these things will be useless if some issues are not addressed. An autonomous bike needs eyes and brains that match a human being’s level of alertness. The unmanned vehicle should be able to decide how and when to turn the steering wheel and step on the gas pedal. It should also be clever enough to apply brakes when needed, avoid obstacles, and eventually reach the destination.
A bike that makes its own decisions – sounds pretty cool, right? Don’t forget the obvious challenge of making the bike stand upright and stay that way as it drives on its own.
What’s In It for You?
Some people may be excited about the autonomous motorcycle, while others may just have a blank look on their faces. So you are probably wondering… Why make an unmanned vehicle if there are individuals out there who are dying to ride a bike?
For one, autonomous vehicles are said to be beneficial to military groups. This doesn’t mean that civilians will not find the innovation useful. In fact, one of the main reasons why unmanned vehicles were produced in the first place was to improve safety. Annual road crashes clock in at alarming numbers – 1.3 million victims die annually with an average of 3,287 deaths daily all across the globe, according to Asirt.org. It’s time for vehicle manufacturers and drivers to be concerned with road safety.
The Future of Driverless Bikes
With the advances in technology, it should not be surprising to see bikes without drivers in the near future. Examples of these advances can be seen on popular websites like bikebandit.com. These bikes may have the ability to link to other vehicles on the highway as well as to the highway itself. The concept behind this motorcycle technology is to generate an ad-hoc network for the vehicles on the road to communicate with one another about their intentions. At the same time, it will interact with the road infrastructures.
The plan is for the bikes to communicate with traffic lights, other cars, and roadside beacons. If ever the vehicle giants successfully produce the driverless bikes, the innovation will surely help improve road safety. Automated vehicles are not easily distracted like us humans are, and can make logical turns, accelerations and breaks in the blink of an eye.
Author Bio : Ricky Green – Ricky loves working on and writing about American cars.