Tech: How radar will banish ‘Sorry mate, didn’t see you’ smashes
Bosch’s new techology has been designed to save bikers lives – we look at how they did it
● ‘We want to make driving and riding safe’ HARALD KROEGER, BOSCH
Bosch have created a new set of sensors for vehicles that could stop bikers being knocked down by cars for good. Research by the IAM (Institute of Advanced Motorists) undertaken a few years ago found that over 60% of all motorcycle accidents take place at a junction, when a car driver fails to spot an approaching biker and simply pulls out in front of them – the textbook ‘SMIDSY’. Now Bosch’s latest tech aims to eliminate this sort of accident forever. Current technology relies on cameras and radar to spot objects. However, when it comes to spotting motorcyclists, Bosch say these systems are flawed: not only are cameras easily fooled by difficult lighting (especially the sort that makes motorcycles difficult to spot) but radar systems struggle, too. Radar works by radio waves being reflected back from an object to judge its distance, however the shapes and materials of a motorcycle make it very difficult for the radar detectors to work. Bikes are, in effect, like stealth aeroplanes. By contrast, the new Bosch system uses lidar (Light Detection and Ranging), which is much more precise.
Lidar works like a sort of ‘third eye’ projecting pulsing laser beams that are then scattered by an object and picked up by a sensor. The laser beam is not confused by a bike’s shape or speed so can accurately detect the distance of the bike to the car. By measuring the time taken for the light to bounce back, as well as changes in subsequent pulses, the car can calculate both the speed and distance of the bike – and from those then calculate if an accident could occur. If you were at a junction and tried to pull out, the car would see the bike and perform an emergency stop before it was able to present a danger to the biker. Because of the nature of the Bosch technology, it has an incredibly wide field of view, as well as good range, so it can work everywhere from cities to motorways and country roads (assuming a clear line of sight).
“We want to make driving and riding safe, convenient and fascinating,” says Harald Kroeger, Bosch Safety Manager. “In this way we will be making a decision contribution to the mobility of the future.”
The plan is to offer the sensors to car makers to fit to current vehicles, as well as integrate them in cars in the future. Bosch say this will help keep bikers on the road in difficult conditions, at a time when typical autonomous cars struggle to deal with two-wheeled traffic.