I Want To Breed My Bicycle, I Want To Breed My Bike

You know what's weird? Commercial jets. Well, they aren't weird, I mean the fact that they never seem to change. During my life, they've never stayed from the tube-with-big-wings format. Yes, I know, now they have those little tail things on the end on the wings, but that's not much of an innovation for half-a-century, you know?

And bicycles. That same two-triangle design has been around forever. Sure, it's simple and efficient, but so were radio, books, vinyl records: I'm used to seeing tried-and-true concepts get unceremoniously pushed aside by progress.

But it may be changing. Take a look at this new electric motorbike. It's built by a subsidiary of Airbus to demonstrate new design and manufacturing techniques.

It's designed using an algorithm that "evolves" a structure to be as light as possible while still meeting the needed strength minimums. That means the design may be unusual or complex. The result is something that looks very organic, as well as modern.

This concept could lead to some revolutions. One is that we can get to lighter materials, which could put things like electric cars closer to the mainstream. (And maybe jet packs, he says, crossing fingers ) Another is that this could be the "killer app" that 3D printing needs to surpass conventional manufacturing. For now, it's still expensive compared to conventional factories in Southeast Asia cranking out identical crap. But if you could make significantly better things with 3D printing, that could tip the balance to make it preferable. And if that happens, it could lead to increased personalization, greater automation, and less concentration of factories in places.

But for many, the most noticeable aspect might be the new aesthetic. Organic design would give the next generation of things a distinctive look that would be unlike products from only a few years before. That would give this future we now live it a revolutionary style, which is something that's always been missing when we compare it with our past imaginings of the future. Even more than jet packs.