A team of scientists from Siemens is developing an IoT (Internet of Things) system that could usher in the age of cloud-connected motorcycles.
KTM 790 Adventure video review - is this the best middleweight adventure motorcycle?
The system is called MindSphere and uses a series of sensors and fitted around the bike that monitor the machine and also the environment around it. While there are systems out there already that succeed at acquiring data, for most the information needs to be downloaded after the session in order to analyse what has happened.
The MindSphere system works by automatically uploading data to the cloud in real time, meaning a split second after the bike has entered a corner or hit a particular bump, the team in the pits can review the information.
The team behind the new system is being headed up by Petra Fuchsíková, a Siemens scientist from the Czech Republic. She works as a consultant for the digital enterprise and the open, cloud-based IoT operating system from Siemens. She is also a motorcycle racer and has been at the forefront of testing the new system by connecting her race bike to the cloud.
The system can monitor the lean angle of the bike, rear tyre temperature, GPS position, air temperature, the speed of the bike, acceleration and deceleration, and also fork travel. There’s no reason more layers of data couldn’t be added at a later date, brake pressure, gear selection yaw angle and rear wheel slip speed, for instance.
