The Braun
The Brain
The Intel® Chopper - Built by The Orange County Choppers, Powered by SwitchBack The SwitchBack PC - Customized for Intel®What's This All About
Intel® and Orange County Choppers got together to build an Intel® themed masterpiece. They needed a computer that could take all the abuse the bike would dish out and still be flexible, portable, and powerful enough to power all the systems of the bike.
That’s where the SwitchBack came in.
Why Use The SwitchBack-PC?
Developed by Black Diamond Advanced Technology, the
SwitchBack PC offers the same flexibility and connectivity of commercially available UMPCs, but adds an advanced feature set that meets the unique demands of users working in harsh environments.
Background
Intel® and Orange County Choppers* (OCC) would probably not appear on anybody’s short list of likely collaborators. Yet an incredible team effort by these two companies - with integration and engineering support from Black Diamond Advanced Technology* - has produced perhaps the world’s first fully computerized chopper.
The idea for the Intel® Chopper came up during Intel®s search for innovative ways to showcase the performance potential of today’s embedded technology. After all, a motorcycle offers unlimited mobility, exposure to rugged operating conditions, and a unique opportunity to wed machine and computer - all well within the scope of today’s embedded computing technology and ultra-low voltage Intel® processors.
And that’s where Black Diamond came in. Intel® and OCC faced the challenge of protecting the bike’s computing system from water, dirt, shock and vibration. They also wanted to integrate infotainment, web access, and other PC-type applications using an Intel® processor-based Ultra Mobile PC (UMPC) platform. So Intel® asked for help from Black Diamond, a leader in the development of innovative ultra-mobile computing systems, especially rugged, embedded designs.
The finished, operational concept bike includes an ignition system controlled by fingerprint recognition software, a sunlight viewable digital dashboard with infotainment system, rear-mounted cameras that replace standard rear-view mirrors, an electronically controlled, hydraulic kickstand, completely integrated audio and video systems, plus wireless connectivity including Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and GPS. But what’s really unique is that the dashboard itself can be detached from the chopper and taken with you, where you can use it just like your traditional PC - complete with QWERTY keyboard - to do email, surf the web, make presentations, prepare reports, and so forth.
But that’s just the beginning. This story is about an incredible collaboration between Intel®, OCC and Black Diamond, and the truly exciting capabilities of today’s embedded technology.
