This one is also somewhat technical, and will be mainly of interest to engineers.
The Rolowitz Drive has one single component that is the entire ratio selection control mechanism. It is rotated in a single smooth motion that takes the device all the way from neutral to the highest available ratio. This means that it would be simple to fit the control with an electric motor that could be operated wirelessly. There is no need for a physical cable or other connection between the control and the transmission. By providing it with a minimal digital control, all of its functions could be controlled by software. It could be programmed to respond to one device only, or require a password before unlocking the drive, a valuable security feature for bikes, for instance. With robust encryption it could be secure against hacking.
The control mechanism also acts as a valuable feedback device, since the amount of force needed to move the control varies proportionally to the amount of torque being transmitted through the transmission. This means that the Rolowitz Drive can be programmed to maintain either a particular output torque or a particular speed of output rotation by varying the ratio according to changing circumstances. On a bicycle, for instance, one could set the transmission either to maintain a target speed, and require you to work however hard is needed to maintain that speed, or on the other hand to allow you to pedal at a certain level of force and move the bike at whatever speed that amount of work allowed (so you would go slower uphill and faster downhill).
The Rolowitz Drive is automatic, not in the sense that an automatic transmission in a car is automatic, which simply means that it can change gears up or down according to the specific needs of a motorized vehicle. The Rolowitz Drive, on the other hand, is capable of responding to any kind of signal or combination of signals, and in response deliver any gear ratio from zero (no drive at all to the output) to the highest ratio provided by its specific design. It can do this irrespective of what kind of energy source is driving it, or what kind of load it is driving. It can be programmed to do this without any human intervention.
This provides three distinct capabilities. The first is the same capability as an automobile transmission, which is to provide a series of progressively higher ratios for the purpose of providing high low end torque to get the load moving, while also requiring only a relatively low engine speed when cruising. This is the same functionality that a ten speed gear system on a bicycle provides.
The second capability is to be able to take a varying input speed and turn it into a fixed output speed. This is useful, for instance, in harvesting energy from the wind. The greatest drawback of this most abundant energy source is its variability. In order to generate electricity efficiently, it is best to be able to turn the generator at a constant speed. Wind speed, on the other hand, is all over the place. A Rolowitz Drive could be set to deliver that constant speed by constantly changing its ratio according to changes in the input speed.
The third capability is the mirror image of the second. It can take a constant speed input and deliver a variable speed output according the the moment by moment needs of the load being driven. This is an extremely valuable capability, as all motors have a single speed at which they operate most efficiently and also a single speed at which they deliver their maximum power, yet they are required to drive a load that needs to be able to go at different speeds. Because no kind of transmission has been able to deliver this functionality in the past, motors have had to be able to vary their speed. For electric motors this means expensive and high tech electronic controllers. Most of the complexity of internal combustion engines is caused by the need to vary the speed. If both of these kinds of motors could always operate at one or two speeds (the most efficient speed and the highest power delivery speed) and use a device with the capabilities of the Rolowitz Drive to vary the output speed, they could be made vastly simpler and far more efficient.