Abstract
This article illustrate a novel Frontal Collision Warning system for motorcycles which has been developed in the SAFERIDER project (www.saferider-eu.org) within the 7th EU FP. The Frontal Collision Warning function described here is based on a holistic approach, which com-bines road geometry, motorcycle dynamics, rider input and riding styles. The warning strategy is based on the computation of a safe-optimal preview manoeuvre continuously computed from the actual state of the vehicle, called also the virtual co-rider’s manoeuvre. In normal riding condi-tions the co-rider manoeuvre fairly match with the rider’s one and no action is necessary. On the contrary, when large differences between rider and co-rider behaviours occur, the rider is warned to decelerate. As soon as the correct value of deceleration is achieved the warning disappears improving the system acceptability. Warnings are given to the rider via a proper combination of haptic, visual and audio signals thanks to an haptic handle, a vibrating glove, a smart helmet, and a visual display specifically developed within this project.
This article explains in details the Frontal Collision Warning concept, the hardware and software implementation on the Yamaha Teneré demonstrator aspects and discusses the results collected during on-track pilot tests.
Keywords: safety, motorcycle, collision, advanced rider assistance systems, optimal manoeuvre.