At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the world’s gathering place for the latest in whiz bang new gadgetry, Honda unveiled a self balancing motorcycle that uses technology from Honda’s long-running robotic program that brought forth our favourite robot, ASIMO. The bike is intended to not fall over …. obviously. The odd part is that it is intended to not fall over at a stop. It seems like a lot of trouble to go to just so that those who forget to put their feet down at a traffic light won’t suffer the embarrassment of being labeled a doofus. But wait, there’s more. Not only do you not have to put your foot down, the rider can also take his hands off the bars! To be fair there is likely future useful applications of the technology – perhaps in the trials bike arena. Imagine a trials bike that wouldn’t fall over. It would be a major game changer.
