We are at an interesting point in time for motorcycles, namely because the technological landscape for the transportation sector is shifting radically. Long-time readers of Asphalt & Rubber will note some of the issues at play here, namely autonomous vehicles, rider aids, and vehicle interconnectivity.

Over the next few weeks I want to revisit those items in more depth and detail, with a series that focuses on emerging technologies that are either already permeating into our two-wheeled lifestyle, or will be hitting the motorcycle industry over the next decade or so.

But before I tackle the more obvious items on this list, I want to invest some words on a lesser-known technological innovation, which has the potential to be the next, “next big thing” in the motorcycle industry. I am talking here about haptic feedback.

We have talked about haptics on A&R before, though I’m sure many of you missed the discussion about it. Our musings were in the context of electric motorcycles, and while at the time I noted its benefits for all motorcycles, the most immediate application of haptic feedback interfacing seemed acutely relevant to electric motorcycle manufacturers – who quite frankly were most likely to see its out-of-the-box value.

What Is Haptic Feedback?

For those of you wondering exactly what haptic feedback looks like in real life, all you need to do is pick up a modern video game controller or perhaps even the smartphone in your pocket. These devices send small vibrations and motions to the user, usually in conjunction with some sort of on-screen action or alert.

For smartphone users, the haptic response is usually in the form of an acute vibration, usually in conjunction with some sort of on-screen action or alert. Properly integrated uses of haptics in smartphones tend to provide a more integrated and rich user experience where clicks feel like physical clicks into a surface.

For gamers, haptics come in the form of longer vibrations and short jolts of motion through a controller, which is intended to provide a more immersive gaming platform where movements and actions on the screen actually interact with our body’s actual sense of touch. If you’ve ever seen a “4D” movie at a theme park, you are familiar with this idea already.

As motorcyclists, our sense of touch is highly under-utilized, in the terms of how it’s applied to us riding a motorcycle – and because of this it tends to focus on only two of the three elements: cutaneous and kinesthetics.

Cutaneous sensory inputs focus on things like temperature, pressure, pain, and vibration; whereas kinesthetic sensory inputs give us insight into how our bodies are moving and functioning during a task.

Both of these inputs are passive responses, and provide limited information. For motorcyclists, cutaneous and kinesthetic inputs means feeling the weight in the pegs, the grip on the bars, the body position through a turn, and so forth. But these inputs don’t impart a great deal of information back to the rider that translates in riding the motorcycle better.

Haptic sensory information, however, involves the feedback from our body’s manipulation of its surroundings; and haptic feedback systems mimic or enhance the tactical feedback from either virtual or imperceivable elements.

If you think about it, virtually the only haptic feedback motorcyclists receive while on a motorcycle is what is transmitted through the handlebars to our hands, and how the wind is rushing past our helmets at speed.

This has created racers who are highly tuned to the movements of the front wheel (good racers “feel” the rear wheel through their butt), but there is also a legion of riders who can’t perceive what is going on at the business end of a motorcycle. With that in mind, the application for haptics on motorcycles is astounding.

The added bonus to this is that because motorcyclists receive such few high-level haptic responses while riding a motorcycle, this means that there is a relatively untapped sensory channel available for information loading, which is another way of saying that there is an untapped availability of mental resources that can be used to process information.

If I can borrow a notion from Keith Code, and how he describes as riders have only a dollar to spend on thinking about their actions on a motorcycle, then haptic technologies represent the ability to borrow a little bit more money from the bank while on the bike. Imagine riding a motorcycle with a $1.20 to spend.

Haptics in Application

There have been strong suggestions that kinesthetic communication devices (another turn of phrase for haptics) have been at play in the MotoGP paddock for some time now, giving riders feedback on a number of potential criteria.

During the 800cc era for instance, when fuel consumption was a pinnacle concern for teams and manufacturers, it was rumored that Honda riders were using a haptic feedback system that would alert them when their riding was outside a set of a predetermined variables to conserve fuel.

With fuel less of a concern now, it is hard to say if HRC continues to use the same setup, though a haptic interface could certainly give a motorcycle racer an extra advantage, namely in situational awareness.

Imagine if you will a motorcycle with a number of sensors built into it, which are capable of detecting objects behind the motorcyclist. When combined with a haptic feedback system, a racer could then be alerted when another rider is approaching for a pass.

Cleverly set up systems would be able to impart to the racer at what vector, distance, and rate another rider was approaching, thus giving that racer the advantage of eyes in the back of his head and the ability to block the pass or let them through.

As I mentioned before, because the haptic cues are touch-sensory based, and not visual, this allows the already occupied brain of a motorcycle racer to process that information, which takes place in a different region of the brain, thus allowing the rider to keep their concentration on the task at hand, while still intuitively understanding their surroundings beyond their visual peripheries.

This same concept seems destined for street riders, with Honda already patenting a haptic feedback system for street bikes that focuses on rider safety.

According to Honda’s filings, a haptic feedback system could rely on cameras or radar emitters to detect potential hazards around the motorcycle, most likely a passing motorist, and alert the rider to their hazards.

This concept isn’t that different from blind-spot alerting mirrors, which are becoming commonplace in the automotive sector and just starting to trickle into the two-wheeled space.

However again, since the alert relies on a haptic feedback, rather than a visual cue, the interface with the rider is less distracting, and potentially more meaningful.

With the advent of autonomous vehicles, and integrated vehicle-to-vehicle communications likely to be the standard in the next decade, the components for such a haptic feedback warning system are already in place in the market, and highly developed.

Savvy manufacturers though will see the potential beyond just rider safety and situational awareness, with haptic inputs to the rider potentially taking over from traditional warning lights and dash alert screens.

Getting Outside the Box

One of the most interesting uses of haptics that we have seen to date consists of a belt that carries 360° of vibrating packs. Connected to a rudimentary digital compass, the belt activates the vibration pack that orients North, giving the wearer a constant bearing.

This idea is similar to how many animals, including homing pigeons, sense the Earth’s magnetic north pole. If you want to give this concept a try yourself, here’s how-to article on how to construct your own.

This might seem trivial, but tests on humans show that once the wearer becomes accustomed to the haptic feedback they are experiencing, one’s sense of direction improves dramatically.

Reportedly, once they remove the belt after wearing it for extended periods of time, the wearer notices a loss of orientation and sense of direction due to the absence of the haptic motors.

The application of this concept for enduro and adventure riders should seem obvious, as it provides a new level of useful navigational information, while keeping the rider’s eyes up and scanning the terrain ahead.

A more sophisticated evolution of this could see turn-by-turn directions or a roadbook integrated into a haptic belt or similar interface – that could even be integrated into the motorcycle itself.

This is of course just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to possible uses of haptic feedback systems, and as we see manufacturers focusing more on user interface design (UI) and user interface experience (UX), more savvy and meaningful systems could fall into place.

Modern motorcycles continue to come with increasingly complex systems, which in turn create complicated controls for those systems. With many motorcyclists bemoaning the need for more simple alternatives, haptics could be the happy medium between the two.

Either way, it should be interesting to watch the industry feel its way through on this technology.

“The Next, Next Big Thing” series is a semi-regular round of articles, which focus on emerging and developed technologies that are making their way to the motorcycle industry. It should be noted that Asphalt & Rubber, for one, welcomes our robot overlords.