Feature | Motorcycle
Motorcycles enter the ADAS age
New models from Ducati, BMW and KTM will feature Bosch’s new ACC setup, but further advancements will require navigating critical rider-control strategies. Story courtesy SAE International
PAUL SEREDYNSKI
Motorcycles are finally entering the advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) age, dipping both wheels into autonomous waters with the production debut of adaptive cruise control (ACC). On passenger cars, ACC appeared more than two decades ago, double the time it took ABS to migrate from four wheels to two. Tier-1 supplier Bosch played a large initial role in bringing both those features to automobiles, and is again leading the OEM technology adoption for motorcycles. The slower pace of ADAS feature migration to the moto set is understandable, given the lack of powered/integrated controls and passenger restraints, and the far more extensive role of the rider in vehicle dynamics. Thanks to these unique parameters, active and intervening ADAS roles will remain limited for motorcycles in the near term, until rider monitoring and control systems advance enough to increase rider safety without jeopardizing it. So far, this latest tech is being sequestered to the European makes. Ducati was the first to announce in late 2020 it would be applying the Bosch radarbased ACC system to the 2021 Multistrada V4, along with a rear-mounted radar unit to add blind-spot monitoring. BMW will feature the Bosch ACC setup on the 2021 R 1250 RT, and the system will equip the 2021 KTM 1290 Super Adventure S (not expected in the US in its first model year). Kawasaki has previously announced it will be the first Japanese brand to make use of Bosch’s ACC tech in 2021, but it has not yet revealed a model slated for the tech. Positive interventions The big snag with any motorcycle ADAS feature is the challenge of assisting the pilot without making things worse. Riders keep themselves aboard
20 | March 2021
a motorcycle by gripping the handlebars and bracing their legs against the machine. Any active intervention by a safety system that changes the attitude of the bike – without the rider being prepared – could be disastrous. No one wants a motorcycle “safety feature” that can unintentionally eject the rider from the saddle. Thanks to Bosch’s motorcycle inertial measurement unit (IMU), manufacturers now have extraordinary amounts of real-time data about the attitude of the machine, but almost no data about the status of the human piloting the bike. “The technology right now is sitting at ABS with an IMU integration or traction control in an IMU integration, which is a very powerful system for a motorcycle,” explained Edward Fatzinger, forensic engineer, Momentum Engineering Corp., speaking at SAE’s 2020 WCX ADAS systems expert panel. “It’s essentially stability control, and to me, that’s an advanced driver-assist platform.” “The IMU is an integral component of the system and the ABS and MSC [stability] functionality we’ve been implementing for many years in motorcycles,” explained Justin Magri, technical project manager for two-wheel and powersports business for Bosch North America. “Drawing from that experience in the IMU and understanding the position of the vehicle allows us to utilize that into the ARAS, what we call Advanced Rider Assistant Systems.” IMU-enabled setups are remarkably effective at managing events initiated by the rider. But unlike mitigating excessive throttle or braking input, where the system is reacting to a fully engaged pilot and trying to assist based on intention, ADASlike automatic responses could easily catch a rider unprepared.
