Cyberspeed Technologies
An exclusive interview with the man behind the MotoCam
and RCam motorcycle cameras
.jpg) If
you ride a sportbike, you know that most are designed with little visibility in
the rear view mirrors. With newer model Ducatis and Buells for instance,
you might as well toss the mirrors all together unless you have a pet peeve for
looking at your own elbows at speed. Simply put, they're only there
because the DOT requires them, they don't do much to add to the safety of your
ride.
If you operate a trailer, trike, or three
wheeler it would be nice to see what's going on behind you just like those guys
in the motor homes already do.
If you have a club, or know a great road,
wouldn't it be great to have a camera you could mount to your helmet and catch
it all on video?
With three new camera products from Seattle's
Cyberspeed Technologies you can do all this at a price that fits the budget.
We took time out recently to speak with the
man behind Cyberspeed Tech, Tim Ennis, the companies founder and president.
Let’s begin with your background, prior to
developing CyberSpeed Technologies.
My background prior to CyberSpeed Tech is
electrical engineering, which I picked up at a local Tech school in Wa.
From there, I went to work for Flow International, Kent, where I spent 5 years
working in the R&D black hole on projects for NASA, Kodak, Pratt & Whitney Joint
Strike Fighter Program, Boeing, GM, Ford, etc. We worked on things that
were sent into space, used inside jet motors, drilled holes in the Kent police
department armored vehicles, etc.
During my time at Flow, I chose to pursue a
business degree at the University of Washington, from which I graduated in June
2003 with a focus in Information Systems. While in school, I created
CyberSpeed Tech (August 2002) to address the safety and technology needs of the
motorcycle industry. We've experienced success in many areas, including an
entry into the annual state-wide business plan competition sponsored by the
University of Washington. CyberSpeed Tech. took 3rd out of 50 teams, which
landed us $16,000 in prize winnings and an all-expense paid trip to Kobe, Japan,
in October 2003 to discuss potential collaboration with Kawasaki and/or Honda
motorcycles.
And what about your motorcycling background?
 I started riding dirt bikes locally when I was 10
years old. I gained most of my experience at the Roslin coal piles,
Capital Forest Poker Runs, Moses Lake, etc.
In 2000, when I started school at UW, I decided
to cross over to street bikes and purchased my Yamaha FZR 600. This is the
bike I currently ride and have put 10,000 miles on to date.
What were the circumstances that led to the
creation of CyberSpeed Technologies?
Immediately after I started riding street bikes,
I became aware of the huge blind spot problems that riders contend with,
especially when riding sport bikes. All I could see out of my mirrors were
my shoulders and elbows. My phobia about being rear-ended stemmed from a
1997 car accident where I was rear-ended in my car and suffered severe back
problems for 3 years. I knew that being rear-ended on my bike would be
much less forgiving than being in a car.
Describe the three products you currently offer.
We currently offer two versions of the MotoCam
and 1 version of the R-Cam. The MotoCam is a rear vision system designed
to supplement the bike’s existing mirrors and increase awareness for the vehicle
operator. This is accomplished by rotating the mirrors outward to capture
the peripheral blind spots, while allowing the camera component of the MotoCam
to gather 3 lanes of traffic from behind and deliver the images in front of the
riders eyes via a 4" color LCD monitor. No more looking over your shoulder
to change lanes or ensure that the car behind you comes to a complete stop at
traffic lights!!
We offer this package in a "cruiser edition" and
a "sport edition" to accommodate a variety of bike types.
The R-Cam is a racing and recording tool designed
to help the track riders improve upon their times, while doing it safely because
they increase their riding skills by watching the video after the race.
This footage helps them determine their racing lines, the angles and speeds used
to approach corners, and the general distance between them and their
competitors.
The R-Cam is also used by many touring riders to
capture scenic footage on long journeys. This is a beneficial way to
reminisce about that awesome vacation trip you took on your Goldwing last
summer, etc.
Three part question: What purpose do they provide
the racer/sportrider; the cruiser; the touring enthusiast?
The R-Cam is well suited to meet the needs of the
racer/sportrider, helping them to compete safely and responsibly on the track.
The MotoCam is well suited for the Cruiser and
Touring enthusiast, who are more safety-conscious and have a great desire to
understand their surroundings and navigate through them effortlessly.
These customers also take long trips and love to relive the experience through
the video footage captured via the MotoCam.
That's right, both the R-Cam and the MotoCam are
capable of capturing video footage when attached to recommended video
camcorders.
Business and pleasure with the RCam
We recently took an RCam along the 3 PASS BLA$T
route and the poker run route for Sportbike Northwest. Plugging the unit
into a JVC Mini DV recorder which was stored in a tank bag, we were able
to record a number of miles of roadway used in these events. The RCam
rocks!! Its auto focus and auto light sensing abilities allowed us to
capture footage of some great riding areas in a professional way that we
could edit and upload to the web for your enjoyment. For actual footage
shot with the RCam check out:
You’ll need Windows Media Player to watch these.
The RCam makes a perfect companion for capturing
your ride and others that are on the road with you. It’s a great way to
document a club ride, and with a little ingenuity you can create you very
own club documentary like the Northwest Scooter Enthusiast did at:
PT/Summer 03
Where to buy MotoCam and RCam
products
On the web:
Puget Storehouse
Puget Sound Retailers:
Renton
Motorcycles, RMC;
Cycle Barn and Eastside Motosports |
How did you go about identifying there was a
market for the Motocam and R-Cam?
CyberSpeed Technologies spent many months
identifying and qualifying the marketplace for the MotoCam and the R-Cam.
We started this research effort at Eastside MotorSports with Carter Stevenson,
who had previously worked on my bike by asking him what his thoughts were about
a vision system for a motorcycle. He was instantly excited and had many
ideas to share on how to bring the product to market, position it within the
stores, and launch it successfully within the motorcycle industry. From
there, we spent time with Ride West speaking to Brenden Frazier about the market
potential for a rear vision system. He concurred with Carter, and actually
steered us away from BMWs simply because they didn't yet own more than 2% of the
total market share.
This information prompted us to build the first
prototype and display it at the Seattle International Motorcycle show in the
exhibition center in December of 2002. At this event we met several key
industry players including Tim Calhoun - national sales manager for Western
Power Sports, Junior Queen - parts manager for RMC, SeaTown riders club, and a
host of other contacts that really showed us the ropes within the motorcycle
industry. Everyone we spoke with was extremely excited about the product
and its potential for dramatic impact within the powersports industry.
For here, we decided to debut the MotoCam at the
Indianapolis dealers convention in February of 2003. At the show, we spoke
to Parts Unlimited, Tucker Rocky, Western Power Sports, Custom Chrome
International, Lockhardt Phillips, and many other dealers about the potential of
our product. All of them were excited and asked us to prove the viability
of the MotoCam through customer sales.
Throughout all of the above mentioned research,
many customers/dealers were screaming for a racing/recording tool so they didn't
have to tape their camcorders to the gas tank of their bikes. This
prompted us to simultaneously develop and release the R-Cam package in May of
2003 along with the official release of the MotoCam. Junior Queen of RMC
was the first one to test the R-Cam by taking it to the dirt race track and
capturing some good footage.
We are proving the market place for these
products day by day, with almost 50 customers since the release of these fine
products less than 2 months ago. Our customers are sending us pictures
from around the country with pride in their installation jobs and the safety and
entertainment benefits our products are bringing them.
We particularly like the R-Cam because of its
ability to record to digital video units onboard. Is there much of a market for
this? If so, who are the buyers?
Yes there is a thriving market for affordable
training/recording tools in the powersports industry. Racers and touring
riders alike love the R-Cam because it captures the emotions of their journey on
tape for years of reminiscing.
The auto focus and auto light reader in the R-Cam
is stunning considering its small size. Is all that technology wrapped up in the
lipstick size camera unit, or does some of it lie back in the junction box?
We use state-of-the-art lipstick cameras for the
R-Cam and infrared equipped cameras for the MotoCam. You won't find better
cameras anywhere for the same price. All of the intelligence is packed
inside the camera, while the power box ensure that stable, clean power is
delivered to the sensitive electronics inside the camera to guarantee excellent
performance.
How do you go about testing the products before
commercial release?
At CyberSpeed Tech, we pride ourselves in our
technology and customer satisfaction. We vigorously test each of the
components for many months before they are ever released to the public. We
spend countless hours riding with local groups like the Alki Angels, MotoDragons,
and VME events under adverse weather conditions to ensure that our products will
perform well and meet our customers’ expectations. We also engage in Beta
Testing with our local dealer partners like Eastside MotorSports, RMC, and
Lynnwood CycleBarn to verify that our products are built to last and deliver the
results that customers are looking for.
It rains a lot in the Northwest. What’s
waterproof or water resistant?
This is the beauty of our products - they are
built to last in the Seattle climate. We test in such adverse conditions
as hail storms (while attending the VME), leaving the units out in 0 degree
weather for 48 hours while at the Indianapolis Dealers convention, dropping the
units from store shelves inside RMC, and riding wheelies to induce direct shock
into the mounts and electronic components. These systems truly are built
for the Seattle weather.
The MotoCam: All items water proof, except the
monitor, which is water resistant
The R-Cam: Camera is water resistant along with
the connectors; battery pack must be kept dry next to camcorder.
At present, you currently operate out of a
basement space at a house in the U-District of Seattle. How long do you think
you’ll continue to do that?
Like many other successful garage start-ups
including Apple, Microsoft, and Dell, CyberSpeed Technologies started in our
basement back in August of 2002.
Our lease is up at the end of August of 2003, at
which time we intend to secure a modest commercial location in the greater
Seattle area to expand our mfg, distribution, development, and marketing efforts
to keep up with the increasing demand for our 3 popular product offerings.
Is the business done entirely out of pocket, or
are their outside investors involved?
To date, the company has been boot strapped by
the 5 founding members. We've been supplemented with a modest cash
infusion of $16,000 from the proceeds of the UW business plan competition.
We intend to seek serious funding (1 million plus) in the early Fall to propel
us further into the realm of "The Kings of Rear Vision and Entertainment," for
the powersports industry.
What’s coming next?
We've got a summer packed with events to help
spread the word about the amazing benefits of the MotoCam and the R-Cam
products. We round out 2003 with the following:
- 6/28 - Lawman 1000 ride to Seaside
Oregon/charity event
- 6/29 - Alki sport bike event/food drive
- 7/19 - 7/20 - LA motorcycle show
- 8/01 - Sturgis Harley event
- 8/27 - Harley 100 birthday bash
- 9/4-7 -
Sportbike Northwest
- 9/11 - 9/14 - Las Vegas motorcycle show
- 10/29 - Visit to Kobe Japan to speak with
Honda and Kawasaki about OEM potential for the MotoCam system
- 12/15 - Seattle International Motorcycle Show
Do you see CyberSpeed competing in the RV market
where these types of camera units are already popular?
We see the blind spot elimination benefits that
the MotoCam brings to many vehicle platforms including the motorcycle. In
fact, many of our existing customers are using their MotoCams for their panel
vans, RVs, sports cars, etc, when they're not riding their bikes. We
simply sell them an additional wiring package so they can easily transfer the
cameras and LCD monitor from one vehicle to the next. For instance, a
customer in California has the M400 package mounted on his Suzuki Hyabusa by
day, and transfers the MotoCam system to his Calloway Impala by night. The
potential applications for this technology are unlimited.
However, we will continue to focus on the
powersports industry because motorcycles are one of the most dangerous vehicles
on the road today and they have some of the largest blind spots to deal with.
CyberSpeed Technologies is dedicated to improving rider awareness and safety
through offering superior technology products that enhance operator safety and
make for a more pleasurable riding experience.
Interview by TM/Summer 03
|
