A Colorado company is building a technology that helps motorcycle riders identify potential hazards on the road, calling it the “Waze for motorcyclists.”
Eagle-based Rever recently announced a collaboration with Charles River Analytics to introduce what they say is the industry's first motorcycle hazard warning app powered by rider-sourced information.
Rever has created a community application for nearly two million motorcycle enthusiasts in over 100 countries across the world, offering the best places to ride or drive, track activities, navigate and share experiences.
The collaboration brings in Charles River's technology – "Bolstering Awareness with Real-Time Rider Alerting and Cueing for Upcoming Danger Avoidance" (BARRACUDA) – as a user-generated feature within Rever app.
Rever co-founder Justin Bradshaw said the integration encourages riders to share information about the roads and trails they're exploring to create a safer rider experience for others.
“We’re looking for unique ways to engage motorcyclists, keep it safe and get more people riding more. This, to us, seemed like a great way to do that and show off our technical chops,” he said in a recent interview.
As a motorcycle enthusiast himself, Bradshaw said there are a variety of hazards that automobile drivers disregard that might be important for motorcycle riders. He pointed to gravel roads, potholes and roadkill as potentially serious disruptions.
“There’s little things like that that definitely matter to motorcycle riders,” he said. “Those are the types of things we're trying to get ahead of to provide people some information to make their ride safer.”
BARRACUDA is designed specifically with motorcycle riders in mind, offering them a voice-activated, handsfree way to mark hazards for other riders. It is currently available to Rever users on the Android platform, with the iOS version in private beta.
Bradshaw said these features make his app the Waze for motorcyclists and he’s hopeful users will see its merits.
“The key to this whole thing is adoption, mass adoption. Waze only works because the community contributes to it,” he said of the Google-owned satellite navigation software. “We have a massive uphill climb to get people doing this to where the volume actually matters.”
Rever has built a strong community since its founding in 2014, growing from a bootstrapped team to a venture backed startup after an investment by BMW I Ventures in 2016.
The 12-person company was then acquired in late 2020 by Comoto Holdings, a parent company of various powersports brands. Rever has continued operating under its brand with Comoto’s support since the deal.
Bradshaw said Rever sees additional opportunities for integrations in the future as they push forward in building an all-encompassing application for the motorcycle industry.
“It’s not the best user experience to run four different apps when going for a ride,” he said. “So, baking some of these features in makes total sense for us.”
