We’ve all seen the video of BMW’s Self-Driving Bike on Facebook or the Internet somewhere if not we will show it to you here in this article. Here at AMERiders wanted to give you a bit more facts on the interesting bike that could give us some advanced safety features.
Motorcycle riders die at a rate 28 times higher than that of people behind the wheel of a car. It’s safe to say, then, that motorcycles theoretically stand to benefit from the recent boom in the development of driver assistance technology. There are unique challenges, to be sure, but the application looks more possible than ever, thanks to a new video of a self-driving motorcycle released by BMW Motorrad, the company’s two-wheeler division.
Look what I can do!
BMW Motorrad says it’s been working on the technology for more than two years, and the effort shows. The Self-Driving Bike in the video leans in the bends, takes off, accelerates, and even flips the kickstand out when it’s done.
It’s alive! Say hello to BMW’s latest creation: the robotic R 1200 GS. Pushing its curiosity for motorcycle dynamics, the company created the self-riding R to help further its understanding of the motorcycle’s behavior and how it could eventually receive rider-assist technologies.
The Machines aren’t taking over YET!
The plan here, thankfully, isn’t to take over the role of the rider completely so don’t bank on seeing autonomous BMW motorcycles on the market anytime soon. However, whatever additional knowledge the autonomous R will bring will eventually lead to such systems as adaptive cruise control or automatic braking assist. The bike would become able to analyze whether a rider is at risk and, like in a car, warn or intervene to avoid a crash.
There is still ways to go before motorcycle safety technologies catch up to the ones already offered in cars—that is if you’re the kind of rider who would welcome these systems with open arms. Who knows? There could eventually be a demand for self-riding bikes—though I don’t see the purpose—but something urban mobility. I guess it’s bound to happen one day, but for now, I’ll still enjoy the purest experience of a non-autonomous bike while watching the mesmerizing video of the autonomous Terminator-Beemer.
Here is the Self-Driving Bike Video we promised.
~And as always…
~Live Free Ride Hard~
~AMERiders
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