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Wearable Motorcycle Design
A motorcycle design student recently came up with a wearable motorcycle design that, while cool, is unlikely to see public adoption. The bike would be capable of doing 0 to 60 is just 3 seconds with a top speed of 75 miles-per-hour and would theoretically be controlled by 36 pneumatic muscles and 2 linear actuators. I would imagine the results of a crash would be much like being strapped to the hood of your car during a collision — bonus points for form, however.
What defines wearable? I would have thought wearable means - it goes where I go and can go anywhere I go. This vehicle appears to me not to do that. It looks like the rider goes where the trike goes - and the trike cannot go anywher the rider can go. But maybe I'm missing some key factor or my definition is insufficient.
It's hard to believe that's how Micronians are made. Why don't we see it right now by having you both kiss one another?
As shown, there is no way that it is going to do 0-60 in three seconds. If power is on the front wheels, they can't get enough traction because the rider's weight is over the rear wheel. They will spin. If power is on the read wheel, it will do a wheelie and dump him on his ass.
I therefore conclude that it has one of two undocumented features: either there is a ultra-high speed gyro concealed behind the wearer ( which I regard as very unlikely ), or the frame bends so as to lean the rider forward thus lengthening the wheelbase and moving the center of gravity forward.
Image of Cowboy Neal wearing this and driving to the work in the traffic will haunt me forever from now
- Arwen, I'm your father, Agent Smith.
- Well, you're just Smith, but my father is Aerosmith!
when this thing hits a pothole.
What?
Given that this keeps the 'driver' standing upright, similar to the Segway, I dread to think what the aerodynamics of this thing are like at speed, it must be very inefficient.
"I bless every day that I continue to live, for every day is pure profit."
Does this mean I can now be one of those robot overlords that everyone is so eager to welcome?
Proudly supporting the Libertarian Party.
Welcome to the world of motorcycles, where safety is not our primary concern. Motorcycles don't offer any protection in a crash, and never have, with few exceptions. The best you can hope for in a crash is that you get thrown one way, and your bike another so that it doesn't crush you. And wear a helmet. If safety is your primary concern, cars and buses are much safer.
Write your own Choose Your Own Adventure. http://www.freegameengines.org/gamebook-engine/
reminds me of the races in Battle Angel Alita...
I think the main problem would be bugs with this thing. Imagine your helmet, as well as other parts of your body looking like the front of your car. It isn't pretty and its hell to wash off.
that we were meta-linked through the equally content-free endgadget blurb instead of right to the page?
http://www.greencardesign.co.uk/site/item.php?id=1210936143&category=news&subcat=
what could possibly go wrong?
If people can get past, can they get future? Best way to confuse a stoner
It's like a Segway with training wheels!
Ed R.Zahurak
You know, oblivion keeps looking better every day.
what will happen the first time a truck going the other way tosses a pebble up to about crotch height.
the preceding post was not spell checked... suck it.
I'm curious how a "motorcycle" that can do 0-60mph in 3 seconds is limited to a top speed of only 75mph.
Which one's Priss?
Isn't this a tricycle?
It's obviously intended to change shape when in motion, hence the pneumatic actuators, etc. While you're racing down the street, it's change into a more-streamlined shape.
- None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
The problem with motorcycles is, of course, safety. The rider is on the *outside* of the vehicle, meaning in a collision, he gets hit/thrown/generally injured. The solution is to put the driver on the inside (hello car), but while also maintaining the small size of a motorcycle and not just building a full blown car.
:D
This design comes pretty close to fitting the bill. One thing I like is that the integral helmet and racing-style seatbelt pretty much eliminates the possibility of whiplash. In my humble opinion, though, it needs a few more features. 1) a scoop on the front to deflect road debris and 2) the ability to withstand being run over by an SUV.
"I assumed blithely that there were no elves out there in the darkness"
Yeah, that was my first though. It does say "vertically parking", so maybe that is what the image is depicting. Ah here are some more pictures. That said, it looks scary as hell to ride - when the two wheels move forward, you would also tilt forward, but there is nothing underneath you! You are being help up by the straps around your chest, while the road rushes beneath you. Plus having the helmet attached to the bike seems like a bad idea.
In Soviet accident, Yamaha Deus Ex Machina wears you!
It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
Here's one that actually works. It's an exoskeleton for street luge.
Anyone think of M.A.S.K. when they saw this?
I've been riding for several years now and one thing I have learned is the ideal way to wreck a bike (oxymoron i know) is to lay it down. This way you have some control over which way the bike slides, you can keep most of your head of the ground, and it does less damage to the bike while ideally causing only severe road rash, which is quite painful, but you'll be alive. That is one flaw I see with this bike's design, there is no effective way to lay it down in the event you need to.
No. The best you can hope for is that when you low side, you slide along on your back armor, while your leathers are soaking up the damage. Afterward, you get up and brush yourself off. With only a helmet, you slide along on your ass until you have no ass left, then it starts in on the bones underneath.
A helmet isn't enough. There are plenty of synthetic, breathable mesh riding outfits that will protect you far better than the jeans and t-shirts that most riders wear.
In the vein of transportation
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1czBcnX1Ww
Imagine that being standard military apparel...
(wait for it to trot in the ice, and walk the slick lot...)
But, to me, it kinda looks like a headless horse, or a giant spider trying to take dump on-the-move, or a pair of footless dragon dancers under a box...
Previously: "Linux... Toward the Sunrise..." Now: "Linux... Toward the-- No, now, part of Every Sunrise"
It's electrically-driven, so you can easily limit the top speed with software. More to the point - this is a design concept, not a real product. Apparently the designer thought 3 seconds 0-60 would be useful, but that 75 MPH was a fast enough top speed. I'm guessing he's not a motorcycle rider :-)
Wearable motorcycles are just the thing for killing Boomers!
Wearable motorcycles were an element of the early 90s OVA series Bubblegum Crisis (and its bastard children Bubblegum Crash and BGC 2040). See http://www.daedalnexus.net/bubblegum/crisis/bgctech.html#ksveh for more information.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_to_weight_ratio
Riders who speak of "laying it down" and road rash should not speak of actual motorcycle safety. "Laying it down" is a term used by riders who intentionally induce a crash out of a perceived fear of a worse crash. You are going to be much better off staying in control of your bike as long as possible. When you lose control of your bike, you subject yourself to the whims of oncoming traffic, immovable objects, and other disadvantageous applications of Newton's laws. Suffering road rash simply means that you failed to wear the proper safety gear. While you cannot fully protect yourself from brunt force trauma by wearing gear, good riding gear can 100% prevent road rash.
IMO, This invention offers a great chance to be wearing road rash, assuming you survive the crash. But, hey, on some people road rash might be an improvement. Go for the sympathy vote.
Invenio via vel creo
Laying a bike down is an actual last resort safety method taught at most motorcycle safety courses. It is almost always more desirable to lay the bike down in the face of an impending crash. you are correct though, good riding habits and safety can prevent most crashes. However there are sometime when you are at the whim of another driver and I would rather lay a bike down than plow into the back of some guy that didn't see me.
And yes proper gear can prevent road rash, but if you go down going 60+ and you're not wearing full leather or kevlar (which most people don't), you're gettin burned.
"I would imagine the results of a crash would be much like being strapped to the hood of your car during a collision,"
"is unlikely to see public adoption."
Why not? How is a crash on this type of vehicle any different from a crash with a regular motorcycle? Ok, so you have some impact absorption from the front fork, but you are still going to be catapulted off the bike and into either the ground or some other object (vehicle, light pole, llama, etc.). I guess the difference is then that you won't be catapulted off of this one and whatever it hits, you hit. No chance to be be rocketed off of it and maybe hit/land on something softer, like maybe a poodle.
In the case of a motorcycle, you will be thrown head first. In the case of the wearable you will impact something chest first. Hmmm...can they make a helmet for your chest?
Veritas patesco per quaestio questio. Truth is revealed through questions.
I don't think the wearable motorcycle is realistic, but it could be great fun in an action movie. I'm picturing a guy who jumps off a bridge onto a sloped road below, hits a button in midair to transform his suit into motorcycle mode, and then zooms away. I could see this in the next Iron Man movie, as a product made by someone trying to compete with Iron Man on technology, or even as a suit built by Iron Man for an assistant/sidekick.
Yeah, it's a cheesy idea, but it could be fun anyway.
No reputable motorcycle safety course will ever recommend that you lay it down. The Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF)either trains or provides the training curriculum for nearly all motorcycle licensing programs across the nation, and they never recommend that you lay it down. Their training course specifically instructions you on emergency braking and maneuvering so that you can avoid an accident instead of intentionally crashing.
Kamen Rider 2010! (or 2009...)
I'm disappointed in the complete lack of Mospeada references posted so far.
If it doesn't have wheels on my shoulders and a jet pack, I'm not interested.
Recursive: Adj. See Recursive.
Most of us learned that in Motorcycle safety training. at least 20 years ago that is what they were teaching they did. Is this not common knowledge?
You know you've ridden too much when you know how to land safer when you are thrown over the handlebars. nothing like having a kid in a civic run you into oncoming traffic because they did not want to go around the block to turn. That is what they told the cop. "I saw him, I did not want to go around the block again." It took 2 officers to keep me from killing the turd right there. the cop was amazed I was unhurt except for scrapes being run into oncoming traffic nailing the front of a car and flying through the air 12 feet landing on my back. NOTE: if you dont wear your leathers and helmet you are an organ donor.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
I was all prepared to say "it wouldn't go the the general public because people generally don't want to look like tools."
Then I looked at it and, DAMMIT, I WANT ONE!!!!!!
Damn you, Slashdot, for making me retract a kneejerk reaction! It hurts!!
Redefines the phrase "crumple zone" now, doesn't it?
The gravel-transport trucks will have to update their signs "Stay back 200 feet. Not responsible for windshields or your hoo-hoo."
Not only is it not a cycle, its not even wearable.
Tagged: !cycle and !wearable
Modding Trolls +1 inciteful since 1999
Artists seem to have a reality-distortion field similar to Steve Jobs, only more introverted. "I'll use chromium-doped litho-phosphate batteries ..." and all the real-world issues become moot. Ugh. I don't mind folks pushing the envelope, but this is just mental masturbation. Don't print a pile of technical specifications in an attempt to rationalize the "art." If it's art, just say so. Don't pretend it's an engineered product that actually exists.
$1000, insane stunt bonus!
Sent from my iPhone
I'm deeply concerned about the unit's stability. Tri-wheeled ATCs have been banned in most jurisdiction due to their high center of gravity leading to tipping. This unit has an even higher center of gravity, and goes significantly faster than most ATCs would. ATCs mostly tip when braking while turning, due to the single wheel being forward. In this case the single wheel is rear and the driver is sitting almost on top of it. This would make the unit prone to tipping when turning while accelerating. Common manoeuvres like accelerating out of curves, or veering out from behind a vehicle to pass would seem to be very likely to cause tipping. Especially given the very high acceleration of the unit.
I would like to see the "driver" in a much lower, sitting position, perhaps with his feet resting ahead of him on an "axle" linking to two forward wheels. The axle doesn't have to provide any structural support, so can be collapsing or foldable. As it is, I'm virtually certain than it would not pass road-worthiness tests at the speeds given.
Thanks for making me feel old. I graduated four years before Matt and Trey had even started on Cannibal! the Musical, let alone South Park.
Now git offa mah lawn, I have to go crap myself or buy dentures or whatever it is old people are supposed to do.
- None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
Another rider here. If you're going down try to scrub off speed and get away from the bike! Don't try and control it's slide, just let it go and stop youself if possible!
As the saying goes...
If you love it let it go,
if it comes back to you, you've high-sided!
I'd recommend wearing at least an athletic cup. At any kind of speed loose gravel and pebbles will make it feel like you're being attacked by a swarm of stinging bees.
The Latin phrase "deus ex machina" (promounced "Day-us ex mack-in-a") has its origins in Greek tragedy (how fitting). It refers to situations in which a mechanical crane was used to lower actors playing a god or gods onto the stage. Though the phrase is accurately translated as "God from a machine," in literary criticism, it is often translated to "God on a machine."The machine referred to in the phrase is the crane employed in the task. It often referred to situations where the god solved an apparently unsolvable problem, then simply was lifted out, like the student would be if Yamaha ever produced this and it killed thousands of bystanders. The Greek tragedian Euripides is notorious for using this plot device as a means to resolve a hopeless situation. For example, in Euripides' play Alcestis, the eponymous heroine agrees to give up her own life to Death in exchange for sparing the life of her husband, Admetus. In doing so, however, she imposes upon him a series of extreme promises. Admetus is torn between choosing death or choosing to obey these unreasonable restrictions. In the end, though, Heracles shows up and seizes Alcestis from Death, restoring her to life and freeing Admetus from the promises. The first person known to have criticized the device was Aristotle in his Poetics, where he argued that the resolution of a plot must arise internally, following from previous action of the play. Source: Largely plagarized from Wikipedia. IN this case the machine is a wearable motorcycle which has not useful purpose.
"Question everything, including this!" - http://technoracle.blogspot.com/
Here is better picture that show's how bike transforms during ride:
http://gizmodo.com/photogallery/deusexmachina/1001615643
Agreed totally. As someone who has taken both the BMF (British Motorcycling foundation) and MSF courses, I can say that laying down was recommended against in each.
As someone who has also actually (unintentionally) put a bike down a couple of times, I can testify that it's not much fun.
Rich
The inspiration is clearly from the PS2 game "Kinetica".
If you look at the related videos to that one, you'll find this one which is in its way even more impressive.
All these sorts of things are out there... they're just waiting for the right kind of power supply. Even our best batteries couldn't keep these little guys going for longer than about half an hour.
End of lesson. You may press the button.
!motorcycle
!wearable
DRM: Terminator crops for your mind!
the frame bends so as to lean the rider forward thus lengthening the wheelbase and moving the center of gravity forward.
This means riders crash head-forward into things. That eliminates disability and pain. Great design!
Call me crazy, but in my opinion, a motorized tricycle shouldn't be considered a motorcycle.
The new MSV alpha
Authorities are still puzzled over the huge decline in motorcycle theft. Research suggests it is related to the increased occurrences of kidnaps. More at 11.
Thanks for the Wikipedia link. I now know that the corniest name for an evil organization is already taken:
V.E.N.O.M.
Vicious Evil Network of Mayhem
Just to clarify, Art Center is where many of the world's best professional transportation designers get their training. It's not unheard of for a car company to pay for a promising new designer to take off a couple years and study there. These aren't bunch of computer graphics nerds sitting around scribbling cool motorcycles in their notebooks, these are folks with money and advisers from every major auto company on Earth. They use the same engineering software and tools that GM or Ducati would use to develop a new product.
Their designs are no different from any concept car you'd see at an auto show -- sure, it may cost $20 million to make, but they aren't inventing critical materials and demanding that the whole frame is made out of Unobtanium. It may well be made entirely out of stuff that is still impractical for mass production, and that seems to be the case with a lot of these designs, but it all exists. If they say it'll do 0-60 in however many seconds, you can bet that under ideal conditions and with a couple million dollars to actually build it, that the claim is only a bit less accurate (due to more exotic materials) than the specs for any new vehicle design that hasn't yet had the first production run.
Recursive: Adj. See Recursive.
Looking at that, obviously the first thing I think of if very unsafe, it looks hard to drive, (Whilst looking amazingly fun), the insurance companies probably wouldn't go near it. I doubt it could be even legal to drive in some countries. Although a cool concept, will stay a concept.
Fortran is for pimps.
The thing would flip over on it's back. Maybe backwards but I doubt it. Not enough tire loading.
I'd like an order of free speech, hold the spittle please.
Amen. I just cannot ever see myself making a conscious decision to lay my bike down. I'd rather stay upright, on the rubber, on the clutch and on the front brake as much as possible to bleed off speed. In the average urban accident scenario, a rider has two seconds to react. In that time I can go from 35mph to 0 without skidding (and yes I practice regularly).
Today's tyre compounds have way more friction than your fairings, you're in control right up until the point of impact (if any) and twin caliper front brakes are insanely good on modern machines.
You're dead right that as soon as you lay your bike down, all bets are off about stopping distance and control.
--- Hot Shot City is particularly good.
Real, functional, and looks like hella fun...
dailymail.co.uk
That depends _very_ much on the crowd!
In a pub, the thing would be merely bulky and awkward. We'll assume that it will work as well at walking speed as at 75MPH. IMHO it would have to be as agile as a pair of rollerskates in order to avoid hostility.
Coming south into Phoenix (from Flagstaff) on Arizona's Interstate 17 on Sunday afternoon, where the Speed Limit is 75MPH and the traffic is moving at 80-90, you'd be in a heap of trouble if all you could do was 75. Honestly, a Harley-Davidson Softail is a bit on the slow side there. I settled for a Buell, which is perfectly happy at 85.
Exceeding the recommended torque is not recommended.
Lay it down == crash intentionally.
I'm sure there's a way to crash intentionally on this thing.
As for laying down a bike intentionally, I bet you've never done it. You lose all control and it's *always* better to be in control.
Most of the comments here tell how wrong this is on the road.
It's also wrong off-road. I've been racing since I was nine, 30 years ago. I've done motocross, ice racing, flat track, etc. You can't use the brakes to slow down when you've laid it down. You can't save it & get back in the race either.
Well, maybe you can: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1UlEQtdUGc but these guys are at the top of the game.
once the Invid show up.
What's with you and your penis obssession?!
Go here and watch Episode 11 of Season 5 of South Park.
Only then will you understand.
Here is a picture of a wearable motorcycle
http://bp0.blogger.com/_uhAVIQRB_8Y/Rn_jyEkz5vI/AAAAAAAABHM/2MvQc_7iVec/s1600-h/MospeadaC.jpg
What a big bike stand you have...
This thing looks almost exactly like the wheelers from Return to Oz, sans creepy face-looking helmets.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WM0RFE3QGAU
I always thought something like that would be tons of fun.
Your brain is not a computer.
Frankly, I think this would be safer in practice than a regular motorcycle - it would of course require paying attention and at least some inherent common sense (painfully true of any type of motorcycle), but would offer great improvements in terms of responsiveness and stability, as well as being able to maintain traction and control under a far larger range of emergency situations (i.e. those that typically result in accidents if a certain narrow safe path isn't taken) due to the three points of ground control (the independent nature of the two guiding wheel arms also increases the intuitiveness of maneuver control). The extended arms may look odd at first glance, but in practice any long Harley is the same (with the front tire on long extension, and the way he designed it while looking elegant is fundamentally simple and has few points of failure (comparable to existing motorcycle design). The actuation points that are referenced in the design go to making maneuvering more natural and solid, but in fact are such that even if they do break (even multiple simultaneous failures) vehicle control would not be lost - it would just feel stiffer and more machine like. In otherwords it would become like an ordinary vehicle.
Unfortunately almost no one who will be responsible for whether or not this product becomes real (nor the political organizations responsible for legislating vehicle design for public use) are capable of realizing that sort of understanding, and will be stuck on it's unconventional appearance. *sigh* Essentially we're still in the "Get a horse you jackass!" days
Anyone else think of the Centurions?
Paul Gogarty
I would love to try something like this... Looks interesting. I have ridden plenty of motorcycles, cannot see how this could be any more dangerous...
"It seems that we are at the age where life stops giving us things, and starts taking them away..." Indiana Jones
Some madman going down the grimselpass with what I assume to be inline skate wheels attached.
..at least he's got a spine protector.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=jS31BVj9g-A&feature=related
..don't panic
If the back end of the bike slides out on a bend, and there's no way you're going to get it back up, you let go and push backwards. You do not ever want to be connected to the bike when it stops. And who ever said that "laying it down" meant you had to stay with the bike anyway ? If you can see that a collision is imminent, it is far far better to distance yourself from the crash, and that often means causing a back end slide, and ejecting while you still can.
I have a friend who stayed with the bike after it went down and broke his pelvis in two when it hit the kerb. I have always practiced the safe eject, and so far I've never broken anything other than a patch of skin.
there is no benefit to being "in control" of a bike when you t-bone a car, or a railing or a tree. You don't get to claim bragging rights. It's only a bike, it can be replaced. Believing you can control a crashing bike is asking for trouble and pain. Having ridden bikes since I was 16 (26 years ago), I think I know what I'm talking about. I've been riding 1000cc + since I was 20.
The ideal thing is not to get into the situation in the first place. But once you're there, get away from the bike as soon as you can. I'm not suggesting you jump off at the first sign of trouble, but when you see the side of that car coming towards you and there is no where to go, lay it down and let go. You'll slow down quicker and the bike will take the energy into the crash. You may slide into the wreckage, but it's still better than being part of the initial collision.
Of course if you have no feel for riding or situational awareness, then the accident will be over before you can react anyway, so just ignore me. Most people these days think that the brakes are the answer to all lifes problems, when quite often the opposite is the best solution.
Its a hoax! Thats a pre-production shot for "Return to Oz- Reloaded". Looks cool. I'd wear it !
I'm sorry, but the engineer in me can't make the leap of faith that the details have been done here. I see a pretty artistic concept that someone has plastered some random specifications onto in an attempt to make it something that it's not. It's art, not engineering.
In 20 years or so, we can re-address this issue. That's about the timeframe it'll probably take to see 10x battery/ultracap improvements such that the electric drivetrain of this vehicle may be viable.
Batman movie?
mark
Yeah, I read that, and I'll give the artist credit for touching on the required elements. However, this is where the reality-disconnect happens. Just because you drew a red cylindrical thingy and declared it to be an ultracapacitor or high-pressure accumulator, doesn't make it so.
... volumetrically optimistic.
Power density is the issue. If you look at gasoline, you're talking about 45 MJ/kg. The best batteries in the world don't approach that energy density; ultracaps are worse. With Li-ion batteries in the 250 Wh/l range, and say a 10kW motor, your 1-hour run time will require at least 40 liters of battery (assuming 100% conversion efficiency.) I'll spot you a 4x improvement in the battery tech in the short term. You still need 10 liters of battery. The "artist" batteries are
Except it was women wearing nothing but those contraptions with tiny pieces of hardware to cover them. I just remember the silly picture of one with her butt up in the air. I think it was a magazine advertisement.