From: devicedaily.com

Imagine this: You’re hurtling down the highway head first. You swerve to avoid cars, maxing at about 70-75 miles per hour. Extreme sports fans, this one’s for you. The Deus Ex Machina is a “motorcycle” developed by Jake Loniak at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. The first time you see the pictures, you’re not sure what to make of it. It looks like the unhappy marriage between a tricycle and a Harley, but it is astonishing the scientific community.

Using extremely new technology such as pneumatic “muscles” (sold by a German company) and ultracapacitators (such as EnerG2, Inc.), this is actually considered a very “green” vehicle (ultracapacitators are already used in electric cars). In addition, it parks vertically to save space in garages or shopping centers. Popular Science magazine quoted him saying, “This isn’t fantasy,” [Loniak] says. “It’s a green vehicle, and all of the numbers are based in the real world”. To those faint of heart however, steer clear. This beast can get up to 60 mph in about 3 seconds.

My prediction is that although Yamaha is expressing interest in it, it probably won’t be in production for years, if even at all. Currently, the design would only be able to run for an hour before having to recharge for 15 minutes; not very convenient for long trips. Also, because the technologies utilized are so new, there are obvious safety risks involved. All bad reasons aside, there will always be people looking for the next big thrill and this is pretty thrilling (to say the least!). It’s a very interesting concept, but it most likely will not, in my opinion, make it to production for a while. In the mean time, the thrill-seekers of the world will have to settle for riding bikes off mountains and parachuting in the middle of the Eiffel Tower.

Here’s a video made by Loniak himself: