Skip to main content

Motorcyclists will soon benefit from same driving aids already found in many cars

Engineering and electronics company Bosch believes motorcycle riders should benefit from the electronic safety advances that have been available in cars for years. At CES 2019, the company showcased radar-based technology that keeps riders safe out on the open road.

Putting radar that scopes out the road on each end of a motorcycle lets engineers add adaptive cruise control, blind spot monitoring, and forward collision warning to a motorcycle. These driving aids are available on dozens of new cars from all over the automotive spectrum, but as of 2019, they’re out of the reach of motorcycle riders.

More CES 2019 coverage

The technology will work in the same manner regardless of whether it’s fitted to a car or to a motorcycle. Adaptive cruise control automatically slows down or speeds up the bike depending on traffic conditions, blind spot monitoring warns the rider if a vehicle — whether it’s a car or another motorcycle — is in his or her blind spot, and forward collision warning emits visual and audible alerts if it detects a collision is imminent. It’s interesting to note that the system will not brake the bike automatically; avoiding the collision remains the rider’s responsibility.

The Bosch booth at CES 2019 featured a Ducati Multistrada fitted with Bosch’s radar. The company told Digital Trends the bike is a concept built to demonstrate the technology, and added that the sensors will be better integrated into the bodywork when the features reach production. Like car companies, motorcycle brands will need to find an elegant, non-intrusive way to integrate a growing number of radars into their designs.

“The motorcycle of the future must be able to see and feel,” said Geoff Liersch, the head of Bosch’s two-wheeler and powersports division, in a statement.

Bosch’s suite of electronic driving aids for motorcycles will reach production in 2020. The company is working with Ducati and KTM, two well-known two-wheeler manufacturers, but it’s not ready to reveal which make or model will become the first to get the tech. Researchers at Bosch have also developed jet thrusters that push a motorcycle out of a slide, but that technology is a little bit further away from production.

Editors' Recommendations

Ronan Glon
Ronan Glon is an American automotive and tech journalist based in southern France. As a long-time contributor to Digital…
The Apple Car was reportedly dubbed ‘the Bread Loaf’
A man checks his phone in an Apple retail store in Grand Central Terminal.

A 2020 prototype of the so-called "Apple Car" was dubbed "the Bread Loaf" for its looks, according to a Bloomberg report on Wednesday.

In a deep dive into the costly project, which Apple canceled last month, the report described the vehicle as “a white minivan with rounded sides, an all-glass roof, sliding doors, and whitewall tires [that] was designed to comfortably seat four people and inspired by the classic flower-power Volkswagen microbus.”

Read more
The Rivian R2 SUV is up for preorder for only $45,000
Rivian R2

You can now get a Rivian without spending more than $70,000. After months of rumors and leaks, Rivian has finally taken the wraps off of the Rivian R2, its newest SUV, and the first to be built on the new Rivian R2 platform. The R2 is built to be Rivian's "Model 3 moment," or its attempt to build a car that's more accessible to the general public and thus could be sold at a much higher volume than the R1S or R1T ever were.

The R2 certainly cuts some corners to achieve the lower price point, but it actually still has a lot going for it -- especially as an electric SUV in this price range. It goes up against the likes of the Tesla Model Y, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Mustang Mach-E, and Kia EV6, but it's much more of an SUV than a crossover-sized car and should appeal to those who want something larger and with Rivian's design sensibility.

Read more
The R3 is Rivian’s surprise electric crossover
Rivian R3

Rivian didn't just announce the R2 platform at its latest launch event -- in a surprise twist, it also announced the R3 crossover. The R3 is Rivian's smallest car yet, offering a size much closer to the likes of the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6 than the SUVs that came before it.

Of course, not only is the Rivian R3 smaller, but presumably, it's also cheaper. Rivian didn't reveal actual pricing for the car, but it did say that it would be less than the R2's $45,000 price. Also, it may be some time before we start seeing the R3 on the road -- the car will follow the R2, which isn't set to be available until the first half of 2026.

Read more