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Ducati Featuring Front And Rear Radar Already In The Pipeline For 2020

Discussion in 'Front Page Articles' started by El Toro, Apr 18, 2018.

    • Ducati brings forward some of the innovations from its “2025 Safety Road Map”, the strategy aimed at introducing new safety systems and technologies
    • Phase one already started: ABS Cornering to be fitted to all motorcycles in the Ducati range
    • Ducati testing future-oriented radar systems soon to be fitted to a production motorcycle
    Ducati has always been at the forefront regarding safety: the only motorcycle manufacturer world-wide to have a vehicle able to interact with the jacket-integrated D|air® system, and the first company in the industry to equip a heritage/classic model, the Ducati Scrambler 1100, with the ABS Cornering system. This level of safety awareness, combined with the constant drive towards innovation, have led the Bologna-based manufacturer to define its safety strategy until 2025.

    At the basis of this many-sided strategic plan is the implementation, in the short term, of ARAS (Advanced Rider Assistance Systems) on Ducati motorcycles. Advanced assistance systems increase rider safety levels via a number of sensors, including radars. These, in particular, are able to provide feedback on the surrounding environment - helping to prevent possible collisions with obstacles or other vehicles by alerting the rider.

    Ducati started developing these systems as early as 2016, in conjunction with the Department of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering of the Politecnico di Milano University. The study has led to the development of a warning system based on a rear radar, able to identify and point out vehicles present in the "blind spot" (i.e. the section of the road not visible either directly or in the rear-view mirror), or traffic approaching at high speed from behind. To highlight the technical and scientific value of this research project, developed by Ducati employees, University researchers and undergraduates, in May 2017 a patent application was filed concerning the system control algorithms, and a Scientific Publication was presented at the IEEE - Intelligent Vehicles Symposium (IV) on June 11-14, 2017, at Redondo Beach, CA, USA.

    Again in 2017, the Italian manufacturers selected a primary technological partner to ensure system suitability for production - by completing the package with a second radar sensor positioned at the front. The purpose of this device will be to manage the adaptive cruise control, allowing a given distance (which can be set by the user) to be maintained from the vehicle in front, and warning the rider of any risks of distraction-related head-on collisions. All these systems, together with an advanced user interface designed to alert the rider to any existing dangers, will be available on one of the Ducati models coming in 2020.

    The first actual step of this strategy called "Safety Road Map 2025" has already been implemented and includes the progressive extension of Bosch ABS Cornering to the whole product range. This system enhances active braking ensuring top-level safety. If standard ABS ensures control of tyre grip loss during braking only when the motorcycle is travelling in a straight line, the more advanced Cornering version allows full braking grip control even when cornering, effectively ruling out the risk of falling during the delicate corner-entry phase. Ducati has confirmed its safety strategy value by introducing the Bosch ABS Cornering system also in its Ducati Scrambler family - fitting it to the top-of-the-range version, the 1100.

    Additionally, in 2014, Ducati introduced the only motorcycle in the world able to interact with the Airbag jacket, the Multistrada 1200 D|air® . This system, now available on Ducati’s Multistrada 1260 D|air®, is designed to deploy in just 45 milliseconds (much faster than a stand-alone system), protecting both the rider’s and passenger's exposed body parts by absorbing impact forces via an airbag expertly built into the rider's jacket by Dainese. The airbag is capable of split-second inflation before the rider and possibly passenger collide with the obstacle, and is intelligent enough to sense the difference between a potentially dangerous accident and a low-speed incident or a stationary motorcycle simply falling over.
     
  1. Love all the safety stuff.

    But how about they start with something basic.....like designing some mirrors that are actually useful (safe!!)!!! :p
     
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  2. Good to hear about these innovations, I suggested this for my ultimate multistrada wish list. Now for the thermal vision display system I also mentioned...
     
  3. Oh for God's sake!

    Why not go the whole hog and put a couple of extra wheels on it for stability, perhaps a roof for when it's a bit drizzly, oh and a heater for the winter and maybe a radio?

    Oh, that's right I remember now, it's called a CAR :mad:
     
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  4. Surely a Radar reflector or active beacon would be must. That way the car/truck's Radar can't say "sorry I didn't see you".
     
  5. All very good, i hope the innovation spawns off other stuff from it.....i would say in fact, when i took my bike test the thing that was drilled into me from the word go was "do your life-saver" - a quick look behind you before you moved in that direction...i even do it while im driving the car..!
     
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  6. I’ve got this technology on my Seat ST FR and it is a pain in the arse. Whilst in cruise control, you can be overtaking a lorry through a right hand bend (dual carriageway/ motorway) and the engine management will suddenly and violently apply the brakes because the foward facing Doppler radar only looks in straight lines and its interpretation of what’s happening is you are driving at the lorry. First time it happened on the M4 I nearly crapped in my pants. I no longer use the cruise control function as IMO it’s dangerous. Andy
     
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  7. Id just like to say if the front one can pick out speed camera's then sign me up.
     
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  8. I had a similar problem with adaptive cruise control whereby it lost "sight" of the car in front when going around a corner and attempted to speed up to my (much faster) set cruising speed.
     
  9. My new Golf has this this feature and I was worried about that, so far it seems to be smart enough. It even picks up on cars in the right hand lane if my speed means I'll undertake them and gently slows me down.

    I'm all for radar in cars tbh, it may have saved me this morning when a beemer in front slammed on the brakes and I was faffing with the centre display.

    Interesting that... technology saving me from distracting technology.

    Not sure about on all bikes though, all this stuff adds weight!
     
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  10. I've been driving 18 plate 420scania lorries recently & had two 'collision avoidance' incidents with no one else on the road. Imagine 30ton of metal slamming on the brakes & I'm looking for wtf did the sensors detect.
     
  11. My bikes already got radar. Me.
     
  12. Love it. "WARNING - you are about to have a head on with a car!" This deal with Dainese stinks. It was only a few years ago that there was some research into battlefield head injuries and it concluded that most were due to excessive cranial acceleration, not penetrative trauma. Naturally, further developments are angling toward an armoured suit/helmet configuration that securely locates the upper body at the precise moment of over-pressure. Right about the same time Merde-GP have this great idea about limiting neck injury by reducing movement at the time of impact. If they perfect it then of course 'the armed forces will also benefit from the sale of this system'. You are all Lab Rats.
     
  13. More complexity, more weight, more electronics, more money, more cost......etc etc
    Note to self, ‘ must get out more.’:sob:
     
  14. More things we never knew we needed and now they'll insist we need it and we'll want it. Despite never using it.
     
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  15. You’re allowed to pass using the inside lane, just not switch lanes for the purpose of undertaking ;)
     
  16. Please can I have a back brake on my Multistrada.... I think other bikes have had them for ages..
     
  17. I'm all for a bit of 'elf 'n' safety... But at what point will all this technology take over from the excitement of riding a bike?
    Will we get speeding tickets through the post because the bike GPS has alerted the fine office that we were speeding on the wrong road?
    Its all good but......
    Will there be no bikes on the road in the future? Will we all be ferried around in google cars????
    Just saying!!!!! :sweat:
     
  18. Generation X,
    At least we had the best bands and the best bikes.... :innocent:
     
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