EVER wanted to watch TV on your wheels? Neither have we.
So we're not sure what problem a Thai firm was trying to solve by developing LED strips that turn motorcycle wheels into screens.
The system uses hundreds of LEDs on each wheel to create an image which appears static as the wheel rotates.
“The technology has the potential to turn essentially any wheel in the world into a brilliant, full-color billboard or video screen,” according to Paul Giles, CEO of World Moto, developers of the system.
Chris Ziomkowski, World Moto's Chief Technology Officer, explained:
“Basically you have to track where the wheel is and at any given time have to know the exact position of each blade. Then you have to light the LEDs based on what you want the picture to be, and you have to do that very fast.”
Ziomkowski had the idea several years ago whilst seeing a spinning lightsaber in a Star Wars film. World Moto then began limited production and testing 18 months ago.
The firm hopes its '
Wheelies’ will be used for advertising campaigns on fleet vehicles.
Giles also thinks the idea could appeal to motorcyclists who want to put a face on their wheels. He said:
“It gives their bike a face, sort of like an avatar”.
Giles added:
“When we drive around with the Wheelies, people immediately turn and look at it with their mouths open. It’s beyond a ‘wow’ factor - it’s almost into the ‘holy ****’ factor. They immediately ask us how much is that, and where can I buy it?”
Asked whether they would cost over $1,000, Giles said it would
“depend on the size,” adding that the
"first version of any product is never the cheapest”.
The firm hopes Wheelies will be in use by late 2013 or early 2014, so watch out for them on the road, not that you’ll miss them.
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