Innovation: Honda Power Exporter

In our modern society, electricity is an almost absolute necessity. Or lives have become incredibly dependent upon our electronics and when something happens to the local electrical grid, as happened earlier this year in my town, the loss of electricity can prove particularly inconvenient, especially for someone who works remotely from home. Thinking back, it could have been great to have the power stored in the high voltage battery of my Ford Focus Electric. Honda has come up with a solution for that very problem. The Power Exporter is able to convert the DC power stored in the high voltage battery of an EV and turn it into usable AC power for household electronics.

Using the increasingly more ubiquitous Chademo charging port, the system is able to supply up to 9kWh of power a day, more than enough to keep most basic necessities running in most homes. For my purposes, where my average daily usage is more like 5kWh per day, the battery of my Focus Electric can supply almost a full work week's worth of power. If I reduce a few less necessary items, I could probably go a full week assuming the battery on the car was fully charged. Even on a partial charge, the car would have gotten me through a few days, which would have worked out perfectly for the few days we were without power. Unfortunately, the Focus Electric does not support Chademo.

Still, the idea is a good one and would have been a great alternative to the noisy generators that many of my neighbors had. With the likelihood that electric vehicles will become increasingly prevalent in the future, systems such as these might offer an increased incentive to consider joining the electric revolution.

Innovation: Blind spot monitoring for motorcycles

Image courtesy of BMWblog.com

Normally, I highlight innovations that I am genuinely excited about, but this is one that I am not only uncertain about, but might seriously question the intelligence of including on a motorcycle. Anyone who has ever driven a car know that, because of the positioning of the roof pillars and mirrors, a typical car has serious blind spots from the driver's seat. To compensate, a driver should turn their head to look over their shoulders and check their blind spots before executing lane change and turning maneuvers. However, as Americans have gotten pudgier and their necks ever less nimble, the physical requirements of the shoulder check have become too demanding and automakers have compensated with the addition of Blind Spot Monitor technology. Using sensors or cameras, cars are now able to monitor the blind spot area and provide both a visual and audible warning if a vehicle is detected. If the driver signals a lane change, the system will actively warn against a maneuver if a vehicle is present in the blind spot.

On the surface, this seems like a great idea. In theory, it prevents people from sideswiping another car and offers the convenience of not having to do more than glance at your mirrors instead of needing to do a full shoulder check. The only problem is that the automakers base this on two assumptions:

1. Drivers actually check their mirrors
2. Drivers actually use turn signals

The problem is the sheer number of people who could get around an entire day's worth of driving without checking their mirrors once or ever using a turn signal is downright staggering. For these people, no blind spot monitoring system in the world will ever be enough.

So in their infinite wisdom, BMW has decided to add such a system as an option on their C650 maxi-scooter. Called Side View Assist, it uses sensors embedded around the bike to detect objects up to 15 feet away and lights built into the mirror stalks to warn a rider when another vehicle is detected. There are a few caveats, however. First, the system is only able to function from between about 17 mph up to about 50mph. Second, it only works when the vehicle has a maximum speed differential of about 6 mph. That severely limits the functionality of the system and makes me wonder why anyone would even bother.

On a motorcycle, there really are not the same kinds of blind spots as on a car. A quick shoulder check is much easier to do because of both the riding position and the lack of pillars to block visibility. While it might have a disclaimer to the contrary, such systems inevitably promote laziness and encourage drivers to be less aware of their surroundings, relying on the technology to avoid accidents. When you are in a two-ton steel cage, the consequences are generally not so dire. On a motorcycle, the consequences are liable to get you killed. To say the least, this is one innovation from the automotive world that I hope never makes any serious inroads into motorcycling. Riders who cannot be bothered to monitor their surroundings should not be riding in the first place.

Editorial: Advancements continue to make cycling more accessible to everyone

Cycling continues to grow in popularity throughout the US, with many major cities seeing a boom to the number of people who are interested in biking not just for recreation, but to use it as a means of daily transit as well. This growth has been in part spurred by major advancements in cycling technology that have made cycling more accessible to a broader audience. Whether it is bikes that make traveling by bike more convenient or systems designed to help cyclists propel themselves more easily over greater distances or even technology that simply makes it easier to protect your bike, they are all making a difference in getting more people to ride. The growth has also been driven by advancing legislation that has swelled the number of miles of bike lanes and dedicated bike paths to provide safer, less frightening conditions for cyclists and rules that are intended to create buffers between cars and cyclists when they interact on the road. All of this adds up to greatly boosting the number of cyclists on America's roads today.

Innovation: Advanced tire sensors

Image courtesy of Continental

Regardless if you are in a car, a motorcycle, or a bike, the only thing that keeps you connected to the road are the tires. Those little contact patches of rubber can make or break everything from the ride, handling, acceleration, and braking. On whole, most Americans probably spend very little time thinking about the tires that their vehicles are riding on. Most car owners buy a car with the factory tires and drive them until their mechanic tells them that they need to be replaced, at which time the owner pays to have them swapped out. Of course, monitoring tires can sometimes be as easy as looking at the tread wear indicators on the tire, but only if you know what to look for. And that TPMS system in your car will only warn you if your tire pressures are getting low. However, what if the tires pressure sensors, those federally mandated electronic monitors attached to the tire valve stems, could do more that just tell you if your tire was going flat?

Image courtesy of Continental

New advanced tire sensors are being developed that are sensitive enough to be able to determine the minute changes that take place in the tires rotation characteristics to be able to detect tread wear over time and its effect on the rolling diameter of the tire. The obvious application here is to be able to more easily tell owners when their tires are approaching a condition that it would be unsafe to drive in inclement weather. However, with just a little bit of coding in the background, it would also be able to discern things such as uneven wear that could signal problems with the suspension or even help owners with proper tire rotation schedules. Best of all, with in-car telematics getting better every day, all of this information could be available to you via an app on the smartphone you already own.

Currently, Continental is the only tire maker focused on developing these more advanced sensors, but over time, it would not be surprising to see this technology start to proliferate to other manufacturers as well.

Innovation: Drones for cyclists

Image courtesy of Frog Design

Group rides are an integral part of cycling and many cyclists enjoy the group ride both for the camaraderie as well as the challenge. Having a group of people to chase can help heighten the adrenaline rush and can really improve mental focus around training. The only problem is that group rides can often be difficult to arrange, since coordinating schedules can be a pain, making sure riders are of the appropriate level is not always possible, and sometimes, you just want to enjoy the solitude of a solo ride, but still want the thrill of the chase.

One California based company believes that it may have found the perfect solution. The "Cyclodrone" concept from Frog Design is a pair of drones that can be programmed to follow a pre-determined route and offer linking to your mobile device for control and tracking, but will also carry cameras to allow recording of the ride. The drones will remain a preset distance away from the rider and provide for greater visibility of the approaching cyclist for other road users in the form of lights mounted on its body.

The concept itself is intriguing and, while it lacks the social aspects of group riding, does seem like it has the potential to offer the fitness benefits. If paired with some of the available fitness tracking programs or even an interval timer, a rider could easily pre-program a full interval workout along a predetermined route, allowing them to optimize their training efforts and be able to do it whenever fits best into their schedule. The ability to record the ride will also help in analysis of pedal stroke for efficiency and for identifying any behaviors that need correcting to improve form. Of course, a major drawback might be how long the batteries would be able to last as many longer rides can go for well beyond the battery life of most remote drones available to consumers today.

Obviously, for the casual or recreational rider, this is likely far too expensive and far too impractical a tool to really get much use, but for those who are serious about training, there seems to be potential in such an innovative approach and it could add some real flexibility to the training regimen. I could also see this being fun for motorcyclists as being able to capture video of a ride from several different angles would be a pretty unique way to improve cornering form as well.

Innovation: Hacking cars

Image courtesy of Forbes.com

Innovation is a funny thing. Often times, it has a lot of great potential to do amazing things and drive progress, but there can be unintended side effects. With cars, as computers have become increasingly integrated into ever increasingly more aspects of the average car's functions, it was only a matter of time before someone discovered that you can tap into the car's computers and start to take over some of the functions. Much of this had been restricted in the past because there was no easy way to connect to a car driving along the road, but as manufacturers have started to add wireless and cellular connections to their vehicles to take advantage of the wealth of information on the Internet, they have also inadvertently exposed those cars to hacking from the outside.

But hacking, as a term, gets a bad reputation. Sure initially hackers were considered evil, building malicious code to gain access to protected resources or breaking through barriers to gain access to private data, but in recent years, hacking has also come to signify taking a very stock item and finding a unique way to use it or to personalize it to your own needs. With cars, we have been hacking ECUs for decades now. Many aftermarket companies have developed ways to hack the programming on the ECU of a fuel injected car to adjust everything from the fuel map to ignition timing to variable valve timing transition point and using all of those things to compensate for modifications that have been applied to the car to optimize the performance. This kind of hacking has been a boon to performance cars and has allowed the addition of massive power to virtually any car through the application of forced induction.

Innovation: Audi Traffic Light Assist

Image courtesy of Yahoo! Autos

It is rare that new driver assist technology catches my attention these days as I find much of it extraneous and believe that it has a tendency to promote laziness and poor driving habits. However, at CES this year, Audi introduced a new piece of technology that not only has my interest, but just might be something that I would actually use myself. Called Audi Traffic Light Assist, the technology showcases the ability for Audi's cars to receive information about the upcoming traffic lights along the current path and have a countdown display in the center gauge cluster, helping the driver determine how long before the current light will change. Ostensibly, this means that with just a little forethought, this could help a driver make every green light along their route, allowing them to optimize their travel time.

As a side benefit, this technology could help alleviate some traffic jams as well as help reduce greenhouse gas emissions by reducing the amount of time that cars spend idling at stoplights. Display the information on a head-up display in cars or via a helmet, like the upcoming Skully AR-1, for motorcyclists and it could become one of the most useful pieces of automotive technology to have been introduced since in-car GPS.

This is one piece of driver assist technology that I not only hope makes it from concept into production, but I hope spreads itself throughout all manufacturers as it would have some genuine benefits and could be something that makes driving a little more enjoyable and a little more predictable.

Editorial: Holding innovation to higher standards

A little more than a week ago, a car fire occurred outside Seattle, WA. Seems like rather insignificant news, right? Car fires are a daily occurrence around the country and most people drive by them without so much as a second look, although most likely accompanied by some colorful language at the traffic congestion that is caused by the rubber-necking that occurs anytime flashing lights are seen. However, the fact that this car fire was the first involving a Tesla Model S someone warranted national news coverage. The Model S in question was damaged by a large piece of debris that fell off a semi-truck. The debris in question hit at such an angle and with such force that it punctured the extra thick metal casing that houses the battery, resulting in the cooling system for one battery compartment to fail, which ultimately caused the fire.

With all the coverage, one would expect there to have been a fatality, or at the least severe injury, involved. Someone must have gotten hurt or something dramatic must have happened, right? Otherwise, why would we be holding this innovative new technology to a higher standard than the technology we currently have?

Innovation: Augmented Reality for the 2-Wheeled Lifestyle

Image courtesy of Indiegogo

As long as I have been a motorcycle rider, I have always thought that it would be awesome to be able to get some sort of a heads-up display that could project an image onto the visor of my helmet. The display could help track speed, gear, and possibly even provide directions if linked to a GPS unit or smart phone. Other functionality that we can already get with existing helmet communicators should be integrated as well, allowing hands-free calling via a Bluetooth connection to a mobile phone and also music playback. There have been a few solutions that have attempted to accomplish pieces of this, but none that provide a truly integrated experience that is safe and easy to use.

Lucky for me, LiveMap and Reevu are two companies looking to change the way we think about helmets.

Innovation: BikeSpike

Image courtesy of BikeSpike on Kickstarter

For those of us who rely on two-wheeled forms of transportation, security is always a concern. Not having solid sheet metal and glass to prevent access and entry to our bicycles and motorcycles, riders of all kinds continue to look for innovative ways to protect our investments. That is why the BikeSpike caught my attention when I saw it. This small device, which was originally developed for bicycles, that can be attached to any two-wheeled vehicle, offers a way to GPS track the location of your bike or motorcycle from your smart phone. While the idea has been around, it has only been available for motorcycles as a part of expensive alarm systems and never as a low-cost standalone option.

The BikeSpike allows total control from its smart phone app and allows a user to enter the details of their ride into the app to keep track of the vehicle's information and make it available to law enforcement at the touch of a finger in the event that the vehicle is stolen. The app also allows you to set a geo-fence around the vehicle, triggering a warning if the vehicle is moved out of the designated area. In many ways, this is exactly the kind of thing motorcyclists and bicyclists are looking and for once, it is not so cost prohibitive that only those with money to spare can afford it.

Read more about the BikeSpike at the link after the jump.

Innovation: Rustoleum NeverWet

A friend of mine posted the below video on Facebook the other day. It is a demonstration of a new product from Rustoleum called "NeverWet." It is a spray on product that seems to create a nonporous and slick barrier, causing liquids of all sorts to simply slide off. Check out the video below for more details.

After watching the video, it got me thinking about potential automotive applications. Currently, the best way to protect your car's paint is to wax it after washing. While wax does a fairly decent job of protecting paint from dirt and liquids, it mainly causes liquids to simply bead up, leaving the job of removing the water off the car up to you. Thicker, stickier liquids, like tree sap, still have a tendency to cling to wax, meaning you would have to wash and reapply the wax to get rid of it. The other problem with wax is that in order for it to properly protect your vehicle, it must be applied on a fairly regular basis. Not everyone is going to have time to properly and regularly wax their vehicle.

What if there was a spray on product that could supplement your wax by repelling all sorts of liquids? How cool would it be to watch rain, mud, and all forms of dirty liquids simply roll off the hood of your car? Rustoleum's "NeverWet" certainly has the potential to be that product. From the video above, it seems to work on all sorts of surfaces, such as textiles, smooth plastic, glass surfaces, and even concrete bricks. The only noticeable problem with "NeverWet" is that once applied, it does leave a rough texture on whatever it was applied to. If Rustoluem could find a way to smooth out the end application, and find a way to mix it with automotive wax, then you could potentially have a product that would keep your vehicle cleaner longer. Another potential application is to mix the product with the clear coat that is applied to cars as the last step of the automotive painting process. Car gets dirty? No problem. Just spray it down with water and watch all the dirt and grime simply slide off the car with the water. A solution like this could potentially save time, money, and water for the DIY car care types.

After watching the video, what do you guys think? Could a product like this see a potential automotive application? Could you see it being used for something else like motorcycles? Let me know what you think in the comments below. 

Innovation: Moto Parking

Image courtesy of Motorbiker.org

Finding a place to park your motorcycle in some cities is a hassle. Many cities do not provide dedicated motorcycle parking and when they do, it is often not in the most convenient of locations. However, an Italian company is looking to change that for the better in Europe with the innovative MotoParking storage unit. It is essentially a storage locker with a built in chain that can be used to lock a motorcycle. The locker can be used to store protective equipment that motorcyclists need to ride safely. Having these would make parking easier and safer for motorcyclists, perhaps encouraging more people to utilize a motorcycle as their primary form of transportation. Of course, there is a fee to utilize this system, but if I must pay for parking, making it this usable would certainly make me feel better about the cost involved.

While the system is currently only available in Europe, I hope to see US cities adopt this system for their motorcycle street parking spaces and give us motorcyclists a more usable parking system.

Click here to learn more about the MotoParking lockers.