[TorqueyTechie]

BMW Motorrad has come up with a concept motorbike which is very futuristic. The bike is provided with lot of AI and is a zero emission bike. It can self balance and they claim that you cannot fall over at all. The bike comes with a augmented headset which provides the rider information about speed, navigation and rear view mirrors. So is this the future?

Link 1 :

https://youtu.be/G1gwS-jeLJs

Link 2 :

https://youtu.be/bEWRJC27tXk

[Omkar]

Originally Posted by TorqueyTechie

BMW Motorrad has come up with a concept motorbike which is very futuristic. The bike is provided with lot of AI and is a zero emission bike. It can self-balance and they claim that you cannot fall over at all. The bike comes with a augmented headset which provides the rider information about speed, navigation and rear view mirrors. So is this the future?

BMW Motorrad Vision Next 100 does look pretty nice at a glance and is claimed to be so stable that you won't fall off it! It kind of reminds me of the bikes in the movie terminator salvation which had guns to balance it at high speeds at any lean angles. Well, that was fiction, but coming back to reality, there have been attempts at a self-balancing motorcycle. I remember watching this video a while back. It uses two gyroscopes to balance the vehicle and basically doesn’t topple over even when hit by a car (it's still a concept).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBVztfLN3lk

What’s cool about the vision Next 100 is that some of the futuristic stuff which is supposedly going to be a common thing after 30 years or so, looks really cool! Especially the gesture control for indicators while turning, extensive use of carbon fibre and last but not the least, ZERO Emissions. Though the video doesn't reveal much on the technology that they are planning to use in making the bike stable, the boxer engine would definitely help in lowering the center of gravity and in turn the stability of the bike.

The bike comes with special riding equipment which includes a proper suit and a visor (inspired from Tron Legacy perhaps?). The lead designer mentions that there is no need for helmets! IMHO, that's a matter of concern. Wind and weather protection of the eyes is cool with the visor, but what about the hair and the mouth! Check out this video wherein the guy is without a helmet at a high speed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5wdYLeihCI

Even with the ears, after riding for a decently long distance, the continuous wind noise does make you feel tired. Well, all of these are my concerns with the helmet. Though I'm guessing that the bike wouldn't be allowed to go that fast as the designer also mentioned that the Artificial intelligence would bring the bike at a safer speed.