Photo: Ashish Thulkar
The motorcycles we know today are in a continuous state of evolving from the crude, simple concept of having two wheels, a frame, and an engine, to advanced machines capable of doing complex tasks to provide better performance and greater safety. But will they ever going to be autonomous?
Every rider out there knows that the pure pleasure of riding is getting to be one with the machine and go together places never visited. Training the mind and body to cope with the power and dangers a motorcycle provides creates a sort of addiction that’s hard to explain.
This makes the idea of an autonomous motorcycle sound a bit crazy and unnecessary. But that didn’t stop mechanical engineer and transportation visionary Charles Bombardier to design such a thing along with Indian Institute of Science industrial designer Ashish Thulkar.
“It’s time to imagine, design, and develop a new breed of urban vehicle,” Charles wrote in an article. “Something that will minimize the human footprint, that can operate year round in any weather, and run on electricity instead of gasoline. That’s the thinking behind the Cyclotron, a concept I created, inspired by the Tron Light Cycle and Lit Motors’ self-balancing C1. ”
Phew! So this is not intended for your average rider, but typical city dwellers to commute and take less space on the road. Well, that explains a lot, but it seems rather complicated since commuters usually take their cars to work because they are afraid to go on two wheels and also want to be protected from the elements.
The Cyclotron here, however, was designed to solve both problems. The concept is basically a scaled-up motorcycle built around a cockpit, where two passengers sit face-to-face in a somewhat cozy environment.
The stability problem also gets fixed thanks to a gyroscopic system that will keep the vehicle upright all the times, even when coming to a full stop. Power is assured by an electric motor in each wheel to provide traction in any season and the designer also envisions wireless battery recharging.
Sounds pretty interesting, but whether or not we’ll see this on the roads in the future, I’ll prefer to stick to a traditional motorcycle, even if it’s fully electric and there won’t be a single drop of oil left on this planet.
This makes the idea of an autonomous motorcycle sound a bit crazy and unnecessary. But that didn’t stop mechanical engineer and transportation visionary Charles Bombardier to design such a thing along with Indian Institute of Science industrial designer Ashish Thulkar.
“It’s time to imagine, design, and develop a new breed of urban vehicle,” Charles wrote in an article. “Something that will minimize the human footprint, that can operate year round in any weather, and run on electricity instead of gasoline. That’s the thinking behind the Cyclotron, a concept I created, inspired by the Tron Light Cycle and Lit Motors’ self-balancing C1. ”
Phew! So this is not intended for your average rider, but typical city dwellers to commute and take less space on the road. Well, that explains a lot, but it seems rather complicated since commuters usually take their cars to work because they are afraid to go on two wheels and also want to be protected from the elements.
The Cyclotron here, however, was designed to solve both problems. The concept is basically a scaled-up motorcycle built around a cockpit, where two passengers sit face-to-face in a somewhat cozy environment.
The stability problem also gets fixed thanks to a gyroscopic system that will keep the vehicle upright all the times, even when coming to a full stop. Power is assured by an electric motor in each wheel to provide traction in any season and the designer also envisions wireless battery recharging.
Sounds pretty interesting, but whether or not we’ll see this on the roads in the future, I’ll prefer to stick to a traditional motorcycle, even if it’s fully electric and there won’t be a single drop of oil left on this planet.
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