Future Honda Bikes Might Be Able To Read Your Mind

Honda has been at the forefront of developing interesting and unconventional technologies for quite some time now. The brand has come up with self-balancing bikes and the legendary Asimo humanoid robot. And now, Honda seems to be taking technology to a whole new level with its recent patent application of brainwave reading technology for its motorcycle.

The technology primarily consists of a specially designed helmet into which multiple electrodes are integrated. These electrodes are used to measure the electrical signals from the brain, which is then carried to a computer, which Honda calls the ‘Brain machine interface’. The information is processed and then used to control various aspects of a motorcycle.

The motorcycle shown in the patent itself is pretty much as modern as it comes. It packs a multiple axis inertial measurement unit, computer-aided ABS, ride-by-wire throttle and the works. But in addition to these, Honda has also added a steering actuator and a steering angle sensor.

So, in theory, the motorcycle could change directions as soon as the rider thinks of it. For some reason, Honda found it apt to show an example of pulling a wheelie using this tech, just by thinking. Now, we know a wheelie sounds cool and all, but we feel a better example could be made on how it may play an important role in reducing the reaction time in case of an emergency.

Even though it’s in milliseconds, there’s a distinct response delay between thinking and using your hands to make the movement that’s thought of. We wonder if Honda’s brain-wave reading tech can reduce this delay, making riding a lot safer. We already have sophisticated electronics that are primarily reactive in nature, and Honda’s latest patents add the thinking aspect of things, which should make the system a lot more wholesome.

Also Read: A Motorcycle For the Moon? Why Not!

But that being said, the current level of technology is still far from being perfect. Decoding brain signals is tricky as the interface will have to distinguish mere thoughts and the actual intention to move a limb or two physically. We hope Honda perfects the technology soon enough in the future to make it usable in a foolproof, scalable manner. After all, the development in brain-reading technology is already progressing at a steady rate. Case in point is Elon Musk’s Neuralink Project. One of the notable aspects of the project is offering brain-controlled access to electronic devices for people with paralysis. So we wouldn’t be surprised if there are mind-controlled motorcycles that offer Moto-Terminator-like reflexes in the future. What do you guys think?