In a global debut at CES, Honda unveiled its Riding Assist technology, which leverages Honda’s robotics technology to create a self-balancing motorcycle that greatly reduces the possibility of falling over while the motorcycle is at rest.
Rather than relying on gyroscopes, which add a great deal of weight and alter the riding experience as announced by other companies, the Honda Riding Assist motorcycle incorporates technology originally developed for the company’s UNI-CUB personal mobility device.
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It isn’t ready for production yet, but the Riding Assist technology works like magic. It can help bigger motorcycles maintain balance while manoeuvring or travelling at crawling speeds – something that can be tricky even for experienced riders. Lessons learnt from developing the iconic Asimo robot and the UNI-CUB personal mobility device were implemented in the Riding Assist Technology.
Riding Assist converts the motorcycle’s front fork from a standard geometry position to one more aggressively angled, analogous to that of a cruiser motorcycle. The adjusted angle helps increase stability, and the balance is maintained by a dedicated motor attached to the front wheel.
Watch it do its thing here: