Riderless Bike: What’s The Point?
Thursday, August 20th, 2015
The concept as visualized.
OK, I do understand the point; it just seems so wrong.
I’m talking about an article I ran across titled, “Police Bikes That Have No Rider.” The article discusses what is essentially a land-based drone motorcycle intended as sort of a RoboCop. What the heck, if Google can create a driverless car why can’t someone create a riderless motorcycle? Apparently they can.
The gist of the concept is this:
Deemed the interceptor, this concept is a driverless police vehicle. It would be equipped with 3D cameras and an extremely complex monitoring system. The “drone†will be able to monitor the streets, issue citations, and record violations in real time. Another widely accepted use for this vehicle would be nightly patrols and neighborhood watch, while being almost completely silent.
What we seem to be looking at is a very much cooler rendition of R2-D2. Just kind of a droid.
But with no rider there is no one to enjoy the bike. How wrong is it to have a motorcycle that cruises around but there’s nobody riding? Motorcycles are meant to be ridden.
Of course the real issue with something like this is the same as with those automatic traffic cameras that catch you speeding or running a red light (or yellow light, depending on how they’re set). Let’s face it: Every one of us speeds at times, and theoretically it would be possible to fine everyone every single time they committed any infraction, but I don’t think anybody wants that. So consider this additional portion of the article:
Not only does the Interceptor monitor for speeding violations, it is also constantly scanning and running liscense plates to check for registration violations. When it senses a violation the Interceptor records the action in real time. Making use of its state of the art audio visual system to make sure that the entire encounter is recorded, including real time stats that include speed, and direction. The Interceptor will then immediately issue a citation that will be delivered via e-mail, text, or postal service. The Interceptor will then continue on its way, there is no need for the vehicle to stop. If the violator continues the illegal behavior the Interceptor will notify local offices and they can then stop the suspect.
Does the name “Big Brother” creep into your thoughts?
Anyway, be alerted. This is something we may see in the future. That means it’s time now to be thinking about how we feel about this sort of thing and formulating the opinions we want to pass along to our lawmakers when the time comes, or perhaps even before.
Biker Quote for Today
Didn’t see me? Or didn’t look?
