No, it's not April 1st... And yet! It sounds more like science fiction than science, but Honda has filed a patent showing it's working on a brainwave sensing system to help future motorcycles know their riders' intentions. For what ? Exceeding ambition is the cause of many accidents. You know what you hope to do – you can even see it unfolding in your mind – but errors in control or poor judgment can make the results catastrophically different from that vision. So onboard safety systems can ensure the motorcycle does what you want, even if your controls are clumsy.
Every year we see an increase in the number of electronic rider aids, but they are constantly at a disadvantage because they can only react to the behavior of the motorcycle and the rider's requests without knowing the origin of the request. Honda wants to remedy this by leaving future motorcycles read the minds of their pilots before deciding how to apply its driver assistance technology.
The new patent application comes from Honda's R&D Americas facility in Los Angeles and aims to improve the way humans and motorcycles interact. This may sound futuristic, but in a world where Elon Musk is developing brain implant "neurotechnology" that provides a direct connection between the mind and the computer (via his company Neuralink), the idea of a motorcycle capable of reading your thoughts might not be far-fetched.
This even makes more sense than it seems. After all, it's no problem to mentally imagine a flawless, flawless wheelie. But turning this vision into reality? This requires a level that is beyond the majority of us and ill-judged attempts could well prove disastrous.
The premise of Honda's idea is quite simple, although the actual technology involved is at the current cutting edge of what's possible, and beyond. In short, you wear a helmet with built-in electrodes that can pick up brainwave signals and transmit them to a “Brain-Machine Interface” computer which interprets them and then sends them to the motorcycle, and its attendants.
The integrated suite of accelerometers, an inertial measurement unit (calculating tilt, yaw and pitch), an electronic throttle, traction control and a computer-controlled ABS braking system are no different from what already found on current machines. The only notable addition mentioned in the patent is a sensor measuring the steering angle and an actuator to move the steering itself if the computer deems it necessary.
As impressive as they are, the latest driver assistance systems are still essentially limited by the fact that they can only respond to what they sense, relying on programming to try to interpret driver inputs and provide what he or she wants. This is why you should always pre-select settings like traction control and ABS to tell the bike what level of intervention you accept. By adding sensors that can literally read your mind, the same driver assistance systems have the potential to be much more effective.
Honda uses the wheelie as a primary example of a rider's mental control over the motorcycle. After all, we can all imagine an impressive wheelie, but even if you know the theory on how to do it, pulling off a perfect one isn't easy without a lot of practice.
The patent says the motorcycle can detect various inputs, including brain waves, which “may indicate the user's intention to perform the wheelie” and help you do this by automatically taking control of various controllers.
Other passages explain the process: “Once controlled, the throttle can be increased to cross a threshold value and immediately the clutch can be operated to disengage the transmission gears. Additionally, as the engine rotation increases, the clutch can be immediately released by a certain amount (e.g., 80%) while the throttle is controlled. This can allow the front wheel to lift while the rear wheel remains on the ground…”
Although a motorcycle capable of performing a perfect wheelie regardless of the skill of its rider may not be an obvious benefit to road safety, and is sure to annoy anyone who spends arduous hours learning how to do it without help, there is a broader view of this system.
Honda Riding Assist Motorcycle, the motorcycle that balances alone
Honda's Riding Assist and Riding Assist-E concepts have shown that the Japanese company is capable of manufacturing semi-autonomous, self-balancing motorcycles. By combining this technology with a system capable of accurately interpreting the rider's intentions, it should be possible to create a motorcycle that compensates for any deficiency in the rider's skill while still doing exactly what he wants - giving him the pleasure of driving a two-wheeler and eliminating many risks.
