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Radar sensors

Honda wants to take another technology from the world of cars and put it into bikes.

  • The Lane Keep Assist is currently a widely known feature for cars.
  • It keeps the vehicle in the lane with the help of radars and cameras.

This time around, the Japanese firm is developing a new Keep Lane Assist Technology for motorcycles.

For those who don’t know how it works, in cars, the lane-keep assist features keep you in the lane on the highway with the help of radar sensors and cameras. The cameras detect the lines on the road to ensure that you are always in the lane, and if the car is moving away, the corresponding input brings the vehicle back into the line.

While the system might seem too fancy for bikes, Honda is not the only brand currently working on semi-autonomous technology.

The Ducati Multistrada V4 is also fitted with radars that allow the bike to be equipped with Adaptive Cruise Control. Also, Yamaha is currently testing a new generation Tracer 9 GT with the same features.

While Ducati and Yamaha fit the system on a tourer, Honda, on the other hand, plans to include the technology on just about any type of motorcycle.

According to reports, the system will be installed on the bike’s triple clamp, similar to a steering damper. However, in this case, the damper rod will be replaced by an actuator.

However, the actuator isn’t just a motor, instead uses a magnetostrictive torque sensor to measure the input on the bars. The motor will then read the steering input and adjust it accordingly.

Meanwhile, the camera will read whether the bike is moving away from the lane and affirms that there is no input on the bars from the rider. As such, the system will counter-steer the motorcycle back into the lane.

Despite the complexity, the system is designed to be unnoticeable and disengages immediately after the bike is back in the lane.

Although the Lane Keep Assist feature is still under development, we might get to see the new technology soon enough. If we’re lucky, Honda might showcase the technology at this year’s EICMA show in Milan.

(Source: CycleWorld)

Yamaha’s set to follow BMW, Ducati, KTM and Kawasaki in introducing a radar-assisted motorcycle based on new patent filings.

The new patent, published in Japan, shows that the Iwata-based manufacturer attempts to deliver all the extra information from the additional sensors via the motorcycle rearview mirrors.

Based on the documents, Yamaha’s idea is to fit a small display behind the reflective glass of the rearview mirror, which will illuminate specific icons to alert the riders.

The technology will help riders in real-world situations, especially while making turns, identifying other vehicle movements, lane changes, traffic warnings, weather conditions and road hazards.

Since the full-colour TFT display on the R1 is already full of information, turning the rearview mirror as an additional information cluster is viable.

Other manufacturers have also taken the same approach, such as the Ducati Multistrada V4 with blind-spot indicators fitted on its rearview mirrors to alert riders on incoming vehicles.

However, the big question is how long before the radar-assisted technology makes its way into the production line of the Japanese manufacturer? Considering that other major players have started to offer the new features, we might see the technology on a Yamaha a lot sooner than we think.

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