BMW Group debuted a motorcycle concept so artificially intelligent that it eliminates the need for the rider to wear protective gear, including a helmet, on Tuesday in Santa Monica, Calif. The BMW Motorrad Vision Next 100 motorcycle is the latest incarnation of BMW’s Vision Next series, which celebrates 100 years of the German brand with forward-looking concept vehicles from Rolls-Royce, Mini, and BMW. The group has been hosting events around the world this year to debut each new concept in a different city. California’s event, held in an old airplane hangar, displayed the motorcycle along each of the group's other previously shown concepts.
It's a bike that has self-balancing systems to keep it upright both when standing (a boon for novice riders, on par with training wheels for bicycles) and in motion (beneficial for experienced riders who want erudite handling at high speed).
One BMW calls a “Digital Companion,” which offers riding advice and adjustment ideas to optimize the experience, and one called “The Visor,” which is a pair of glasses that span the entire field of vision and are controlled by eye movements—correlate to return active feedback about road conditions to the rider while adjusting the ride of the bike continuously depending on the rider’s driving style.
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| BMW Motorrad Vision Next 100 |
“The bike has the full range of connected data from its surroundings and a set of intelligent systems working in the background, so it knows exactly what lies ahead,” said Holger Hampf, BMW's head of user experience.
Another uber-modern touch: The area at the front will have virtually no buttons except a red rocker switch on the end of the right handlebar. The black triangle shape of the frame combined with the white trim lines and classic boxer engine form are meant to evoke the 1923 R32, the first motorcycle BMW ever made. The seat, upper frame cover, and wings are made of carbon, and the bike will run on a futuristic "non-gasoline power source."
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| Rider on a Motorrad Vision Next 100 |
It also purports to use a novel matte black “flexframe” that's nimble enough to allow the bike to turn without the joints found on today’s motorcycles. The idea is that when a rider turns the handlebar, it adjusts the entire frame to change the direction of the bike; at low speeds only a slight input is required, while at high speeds it needs strong input to change course. This should increase the safety factor of riding a bike so a small twitch at 100 mph isn't going to shoot you in an unexpected new direction
BMW has declined to specify when, if ever, this bike will be produced. But the technology seen here may eventually trickle down to future models in the next few decades of Motorrad
See the preview of the BMW Motorrad Vision Next 100
