BMW's new motorcycle is like taking a peek into the future
The revolution in motorcycle technology has begun. The mixture of software technology along with hardware advancement has always been productive for us.
Imagine a motorcycle which can balance itself while driving as well as after stopping, imagine a motorcycle which brings augmented reality to the driving experience, imagine a motorcycle which doesn’t need you to wear a helmet or any bulky safety gear.
In sci-fi movies, we must have seen such fictional motorcycles like the “Batpod” in Batman movies. But this is now a reality, as BMW unveils Motorrad Vision Next 100.
Let’s break down what this has to offer.
The motorcycle is dexterously designed. Vision Next 100 is made of glossy aluminium and carbon fibre. The triangular frame design seems to be inspired from BMW’s first motorcycle R32. The design of the bike ensures stability and it’s marvellous in looks too.
BMW designers have kept driving with freedom as a parameter while designing the motorcycle to provide riders the best driving experience - which is often without helmet and bulky safety gear, according to them. Above the front wheel, a large metallic reflector is embedded in the frame. It serves as a wind guide and together with the integrated windscreen, ensures aerodynamically optimised airflow.
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| The cool red backlights. (Photo credit: BMW) |
Body elements like the seat are made of carbon, with a stylish cover which adds more upshot to looks. Two convoluted red light fixtures beneath the seat serve as the tail light and turn indicators. Beneath that are terrain-adaptive tyres which dynamically change shape as per the ground conditions, which improves performance as well as experience of riding.
The engine is the most valuable portion of a bike. Motorrad Next 100 hosts a twin-engine which runs on the principle of efficient dynamics by providing a turbo-charging, emission-less drive unit. The shape of the engine keeps changing depending on the riding situation.
Now comes the best part. Instead of a helmet, the motorcycle comes with cool, stylish and appealing visors. This acts as a bridge connecting the rider with the motorcycle. At first glance, it looks like a wind/dirt protector but it’s much different than that.
These are digital visors; the glasses give information about bike speed, extended view of the area, hints as well as maps. Whenever a rider makes an eye movement, the visor keeps track of the trajectory and provides suitable information. For instance, if a rider is looking upwards, the visor would give him the rearview.
If the rider looks downwards, than the map would be presented, if the rider looks straight, than no data is presented so that it doesn’t obstruct the line of sight. If the rider deviates from the straight trajectory out of the path, the sensors provide an alert to the visor informing the rider, and if rider fails to correct himself, the motorcycle adjusts on its own.
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| The rider's "digital companion” - the digital visors. (Photo credit: BMW) |
This will minimise the probability of a crash and ensure safety. BMW terms it a “digital companion”. This looks like perfect use of wearable technology.
No more heavy protection clothes too! BMW provides a lightweight suit, which is also quite fashionable but is designed brilliantly. The suit contains sensors which continuously monitor the rider’s pulse and body temperature. They keep track of body movement and pass the alert to the rider if any unexpected event is taking place.
Overall, Motorrad Vision Next 100 seems to be the next big thing in the automobile world. The facilities as well as features of the bike make it a perfect choice. For newbie riders, this is definitely the best option because the bike controls itself and minimises errors caused by humans.
For pro-riders, it’s nothing less than a dream run. The digitalisation in the field of automobiles has now proved to be revolutionary. We saw recent advancements in automobile automation by Tesla, Uber and Google already, but BMW is also pacing up.
We can predict that smart automobile systems will emerge more and more in the near future. As the IoT revolution is taking place, machines tend to become more intelligent. The day is not far when automobiles would get interconnected with other hardware, and learn from their own mistakes with help from optimised and complex machine learning algorithms.