PARIS, Aug 31 — In the United States as well as in China, concepts of fully self-driving bicycles, riding without anyone’s help, have recently emerged. Still at the prototype stage, these projects nevertheless hint at new uses for these vehicles.

One is the work of researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). They have developed a model that literally changes its design depending on whether a person is riding it or not.

In autonomous mode, its rear wheel splits and the whole thing becomes a tricycle, so that it remains perfectly stable. For the moment, this prototype is operated with a remote control, but the idea is to make it function more independently in the future.

Another project, in a slightly more advanced phase, has been developed on a personal basis by an engineer from Huawei.

Equipped with different sensors and cameras, it manages to move forward, alone, by systematically moving aside to avoid obstacles, on the road or the sidewalks.

In each case, this type of vehicle would be perfectly suited to shared mobility services. Users would be able to order a bike from a point near them and see the bike come directly to them.

Once the trip is over, it can automatically return to the nearest station. Users would no longer have to worry about finding available bikes or docking points.

But all this is still somewhat in the realm of science fiction, for at least two reasons. Firstly, this type of mobility will have to undergo approval procedures, nearly everywhere in the world.

Secondly, the eventuality of accidents or theft has not been elaborated. While the technology is impressive, its real-life use may prove complicated. — ETX Studio