I came across the C-1 from Lit Motors in an article by Donna Sturgess over on Innovation Excellence that made me wonder, will this be an invention or an innovation?
As you may know my definition of innovation stresses that a new offering must transform the useful seeds on invention into solutions valued above every existing alternative. An there are lots of existing alternatives in this space including:
- Bicycle
- Public Transportation
- Skateboards and Razr Scooters
- Smart ForTwo
- BMW C1 (launched in 2000)
- Standard Motorcycle
- Standard Scooter
- Segway
- Segway Hands-Free
- Nissan Leaf (and variants)
Is the gyroscopic stabilization and electric drive enough to distinguish it from some of these other options?
What about at a price of $24,000 – up from earlier estimates of $16,000?
For me there are a couple of key questions. Are they going to try to keep it categorized as a motorcycle or try and get it categorized as a car? And if so, will it survive the car crash safety tests. Although getting it re-classified as a car might make it more accessible (no motorcycle license needed), I have a hard time thinking the greater access would offset the publishing of head on and rear crash test results (and pictures). So, I would place this one in the invention camp – unlikely to reach wide adoption.
What do you think? Invention or innovation?
Is this something that will catch on with commuters around the world?
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