motorcycles will have no choice but to play along or stay off the road
If you remember our articles from past months and years when we pointed out the increasing automation in vehicles of all sorts and how we predicted transponders and communication between vehicles would soon become standard, then you won’t be surprised to read this:
BMW Motorrad, Honda Motor Co. Ltd. and Yamaha Motor Co. Ltd. are now collaborating to enhance Cooperative-Intelligent Transportation Systems (C-ITS) applications in powered two-wheelers (PTWs) and working together to establish a consortium named Connected Motorcycle Consortium.
Freedom was great while it lasted
With cars and trucks gaining autonomous capabilities at an almost alarming rate and inter vehicle communication playing a large part in that process, it was only a matter of time before motorcycles would be required to join the connected world. It’s all described in terms of safety, but with this three company agreement we can see the simple freedom of riding a motorcycle approaching an end in the not too distant future. Wherever you go, you’ll be tracked. What’s sad is a lot of people won’t even care.
Honda press release follows:
Bordeaux/France: BMW Motorrad, Honda Motor Co. Ltd. and Yamaha Motor Co. Ltd. are now collaborating to enhance Cooperative-Intelligent Transportation Systems (C-ITS) applications in powered two-wheelers (PTWs) and working together to establish a consortium named Connected Motorcycle Consortium. According to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which was signed by all ACEM manufacturing members in 2014, C-ITS features will be introduced from 2020 onwards (ACEM: European association of motorcycle manufacturers, www.acem.eu). In order to accelerate this process, the three manufacturers will begin their cooperation in the field of C-ITS now.
The new cooperation was announced on October 6th 2015 at the ITS World Congress in Bordeaux (France), the world’s largest event for intelligent transport systems and services. The three partners also encouraged other motorcycle manufacturers to join the consortium so as to further increase safety in powered two-wheelers.
“In order to speed up more motorcycle-specific safety developments, we intend to cooperate to promote a successful implementation of C-ITS in motorcycles and scooters,†says Mr Tetsuo Suzuki, Operating Officer at Honda Motor Co., Ltd..
Mr Takaaki Kimura, Chief General Manager of Technology Center and Executive Vice President and Representative Director of Yamaha Motor Co.Ltd. adds: “Our companies are already active members of the Car2Car Communication Consortium, in which we work with car and truck makers and other stakeholders on common specifications and standards. We came to realize that the specific requirements of motorcycles are beyond the scope of this consortium, however. The next logical step is to enter into a cooperation dedicated solely to the challenges relating to powered two-wheelers.â€
“Our aim is to promote a timely and comprehensive use of cooperative ITS systems in powered-two wheelers offering the potential to improve safety. We therefore encourage other companies to join us,†explains Prof. Dr. Karl Viktor Schaller, Executive Vice President Development BMW Motorrad.
The European Motorcycle Manufacturer Association welcomes the initiative
Antonio Perlot, ACEM Secretary General, stated: “This initiative is fully in line with the ACEM road safety strategy and shows the willingness of the motorcycle industry to increase safety for riders based on very concrete and practical developments.â€
ITS technologies will contribute to motorcycle safety
If well considered and properly deployed, ITS technologies offer the potential to further increase safety, security and efficiency in all transport systems, in particular for motorcycles. Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) require the integration of information and communications technology including transport infrastructure, vehicles and users. Basic applications currently exist in GPS navigation systems, where real-time traffic information is provided such as rerouting advice based on traffic jams ahead. For road transport in particular, interoperable networked wireless communication between vehicles can enable road users to make coordinated and informed decisions about their route as well as allowing safer manoeuvring in busy urban environments.
ITS technologies are expected to generate particular safety benefits in regard to powered two-wheelers (PTWs), not least by offering a level of electronic communication which can be shared between riders and drivers of other road vehicles.
The three companies have already gained experience of connected vehicle technology in several European field tests. Together with car makers and major suppliers, BMW Motorrad participated in simTD (www.simtd.de), a large scale field test carried out on connected vehicles in the greater Frankfurt area in Germany. Honda and Yamaha participated in DRIVE C2X (www.drive-c2x.eu), a Europe-wide ITS field test project.
In view of the challenges experienced in these real world tests, the three manufacturers are now joining forces to evaluate the principles of cooperative intelligent transportation systems (C-ITS) to enhance motorcycle safety.
Motorcycle ITS systems will be different from those for cars
ITS systems designed for cars cannot simply be transferred to motorcycles. Due to the limited space available, electronic systems have to be smaller and be resilient to water, dust and vibration.
Since motorcycles exhibit different driving dynamics, software development and algorithms need to consider special requirements.
todd says
It would be interesting to see them try to fit this stuff to my old bikes…
Paul Crowe says
Would it really be that hard? A couple of sensors and a smartphone app, mount the phone to the bike and you’re transmitting your location and speed and vehicle type. This will be information exchange between vehicles at first, not some automated control, … at least not yet.
What’s really amazing is how fast this is coming. It wasn’t that long ago it was pure speculation, now there are government proposals and manufacturer collaboration. Make sure you hang on to those old bikes, at least you’ll be able to take the transponder off. With new bikes it will probably be interconnected with the ignition. Turn on the bike and you’re transmitting.
Yeti2bikes says
I wouldn’t mind so much if it just broadcast a short range “ping” transmission to let other vehicles know you are there. But we all know that it won’t stop with that. Soon a black box will record where you went, how fast you were going and that you farted once along the way.
GenWaylaid says
We’re still a long way from the point when motorcyclists would need to worry. An autonomous motorcycle would completely miss the point of riding. Practically no one would buy one.
Consider autonomous cars as a separate mode of transportation than manually-driven cars. Then we have three modes of motorized personal transport: autonomous cars, manual cars, and motorcycles. While the autonomous cars eventually would be the safest option, no one is forcing you to use them, just as no one forces you to use a car over a motorcycle.
Limited vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) transponders would make autonomous cars even safer by ensuring all road users are visible. The potential benefit to the motorcycle rider is huge, virtually guaranteeing that autonomous cars won’t perpetrate “I didn’t see him” accidents.
The concern with V2V is that the data could be used to automatically enforce traffic laws. First, once autonomous cars become prevalent traffic tickets will cease to be a sustainable source of municipal revenue. Autonomous cars would follow the traffic laws, leaving a shrinking pool of potential violators. Fines can rise only so high before a public backlash.
Second, with so many older vehicles to retrofit there should be plenty of options for aftermarket V2V transponders. Some of these will be possible to hack to prevent them from transmitting incriminating information. I imagine motorcyclists will be as comfortable with the moral implications of this hidden illegal modification as they are fitting “off road only” exhausts to road bikes.
The bottom of the slippery slope argument against autonomous vehicles envisions a future where all transportation is autonomous and manually operated vehicles are banned. There would be no road signs, no licenses, no DMV. Manually operated vehicles would be relegated to race tracks and off-highway areas. Such a major shift would require that public opinion come to see operating a vehicle as an unacceptably dangerous thing to do on public roads.
Perhaps some densely settled European or Asian countries will go that route, but it would take much longer for the U.S., Canada, or Australia to ban driving. Autonomous cars are a poor fit for the long distances, bad roads, and limited budgets found in rural areas. We can reasonably expect driving–and riding motorcycles–to remain legal in countries where rural areas have a substantial influence in national politics.
Paul Crowe says
I’m not really worried about autonomous motorcycles, but the constant transmission of location, direction, and speed means your movements are no longer anonymous. Yes, smartphones do it now, but those are easy to turn off, vehicles may not be.
The autonomous cars are rapidly coming, trucks, too, but the issue isn’t whether they can be built. After the recent demonstration of two hackers disabling the controls of a Jeep Cherokee on the highway and doing it from a distance opens up the possibility of hacked cars out of control. Seeing them self drive into a solid object or a crowd of people isn’t a pleasant thought.
The other problem is programmers making the decisions about what the car does when choices have to be made, run over the child or swerve into oncoming traffic. You can decide now, are you willing to turn that choice over to some young keyboard jockey writing code? If an event like that occurs, are you comfortable living with the consequences (or dying) if you would have decided differently?
Right now the technology is outpacing the ethics, but given recent government actions, we may see the government pushing ahead whether we want this sort of thing or not.
GenWaylaid says
With regard to the ethics of autonomous cars, it will be interesting to follow the work of Chris Gerdes in the next few years: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-10-07/a-stanford-professor-s-quest-to-fix-driverless-cars-major-flaw
Innis O'Rourke says
I agree that we are still a far way away. The progression i envision is a slow roll out and adoption of tech. A bill will pass that mandates all new vehicles produced after 20XX to have v2v communications. This wont require any infrastructure changes and the cost will be passed onto the consumer. Kind of a no brainer. Then insurance companies will jump on board once the actuarial tables have enough data- vehicles with v2v will have lower premiums which would be an incentive for vehicle owners to retrofit 2v2 into older models. The average life of a car is roughly a decade so you can assume that most cars that existed before the mandate will either retrofit v2v (if only for insurance purposes) or reach the end of their service life 10-20 years after. While this is happening certain roads ( highways probably) will become autonomous only or autonomous mode only which will become a selling point for new buyers; imagine traveling though the night and waking up refreshed or even better sleeping during your commute! when will motorcycles get banished? hard to say but it will start with ” autonomous vehicles only beyond this point”
Jim Kunselman says
I kinda worry about all the microwave radiation that three RADARs per vehicle would create. I’m a bit over-irradiated as it is, now. I guess I’ll have pony up for a foil coverall suit with a matching hat for driving around town.
I agree w/ Paul about the concern for privacy. In my view, if I sneak out for a late-night rib dinner at my favorite BBQ joint, it’s nobody’s business but mine and the purveyor of said product. Then again, how many times was I filmed on my mile-and-a half trip to get there.
GenWaylaid says
“Then again, how many times was I filmed on my mile-and-a half trip to get there.”
Exactly. Surveillance cameras and license plate readers are getting more common every year. The location of your motorcycle isn’t as anonymous as it once was.
Even if you’re out in the sticks, as long as you have cell phone reception and an active phone on you, you are being tracked. Depending on what apps are running on your phone, the location and speed data being collected could be almost as detailed as a “connected vehicle” would transmit.
Paul Crowe says
Did I say things were happening fast?
I wrote this post four days ago. Just yesterday, a Yamaha press release about the upcoming Tokyo Motor Show said this:
Three years ago, I wrote this:
Development is going forward in all directions, just because it can. There doesn’t even need to be a reason anymore. Welcome to the weird new world.
Wave says
“Development is going forward in all directions, just because it can. There doesn’t even need to be a reason anymore. Welcome to the weird new world.”
Isn’t this website always applauding builders who do things, “Just because they can?”
I don’t see why major manufacturers should be any different. Honda has spent a fortune on the Asimo robot development program, mostly just to show what they can do. Building a humanoid robot that can walk is one of the classical sci-fi engineering challenges.
I don’t see why Yamaha shouldn’t build a humanoid robot that can ride a motorcycle. The knowledge gained in doing so will open the field for possible future safety technologies like motorcycle ESC (Electronic Stability Control), lane departure warning, blind spot warnings, radar guided cruise control, automatic collision avoidance (city-stop braking) and even a fully autonomous motorcycle. The market loves safety technologies.
10 years ago everyone recoiled in horror at the concept of a motorcycle with ABS, but now it is commonplace and most riders agree that it is a useful safety feature.
Paul Crowe says
I tried to make my point with my second quote above, but I guess I fell short.
Adding features like ABS complement the rider and add to the safety of the riding experience, adding a robot that rides without a human on board replaces the rider and totally eliminates the riding experience. The motorcycle ceases to perform its essential function. The riderless motorcycle becomes something else entirely. It could be a toy or a circus act, but it’s no longer a motorcycle providing a human with the exhilarating experience of riding.
If you decided to build a robot that could ride a motorcycle, I’d applaud the effort, not because you made a better motorcycle, but because you built a robot. When I encourage builders on this site who build some crazy, 500 horsepower monsters, they are doing something because they wanted to and to see if they could. When Yamaha decides to build a robot that rides a motorcycle, they’re replacing their customer, the rider, and they may want to think that through a little further.
Technology should complement and enhance human capabilities, allowing us to do more and to expand our reach, making life better, more pleasurable, helping us live longer, healthier, more vigorous and more productive lives, enabling us to experience things we could not without its help, to discover and learn things our human capabilities alone cannot.
On the other hand, when technology is built to replace humans, it totally misses the point. Humans are the whole reason for technology. When technology loses that focus, it no longer serves us.
In simpler terms, suppose you could build a robot that could have sex with your significant other instead of you, completely satisfying your partner, you wouldn’t do anything or experience anything. Your partner is happy, … you, not so much. Is that a technological advance or does it miss the point?
Wave says
If I could ride to the pub and my bike could safely take me home after a few beers, that wouldn’t be such a bad thing!
Paul Crowe says
Well, … there’s that