Neil McLellan is constantly looking for the next big
“things.”
GRAD STUDENT B O LT S TOWARD T H E Future
He’s the business development manager of Wind River Systems, a subsidiary of Intel that delivers software for intelligent connected systems. There, he consults with customers to educate them on “the business value of the Internet of Things and what it brings to their companies.” That’s how the IMBA student at Southern New Hampshire University hooked up with Bolt Motorbikes, a San Francisco-area crowdfunded startup. Bolt wanted to reinvent the wheel – or, at least, some of the technology attached to it. The timing was perfect for McLellan. “It was an answer to a problem that I was having at Wind River in trying to demonstrate the ease and simplicity of what Internet-ofThings connectivity looks like,” he said. The Bolt M-1, which bills itself as the
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“world’s first hybrid motorbike,”
isn’t like any two-wheeler you’ve seen before. McLellan explains that the bike is “trying to make the urban commute a little bit more reasonable” – and a lot more fun. Powered by a charge, no different than with a smartphone or tablet, users can ride about 35 miles. Braking also re-energizes the batteries, and if you run out of power on your outing, just start pedaling.