Kawasaki continues to push its on-bike AI systems forward with news of a new radar-enabled safety system.
Several media outlets have details on the new safety system, which came to light when a patent application was discovered. Supposedly, the Kawasaki design has front-facing and rear-facing radar. The front-facing radar is integrated to the bike’s ABS and throttle system; presumably, this will stop the rider from running their bike into the rear of another vehicle or other obstacle, by activating the brakes and reducing throttle input.
The rear-facing radar is supposed to alert the rider of dangers from approaching traffic. Although you don’t hear as much outcry from the media over these types of crashes, they form a significant portion of motorcycle fatalities, and a warning system could save many lives.
Will the system ever come to market? Most likely, yes. Although Kawasaki has been mostly playing a pretty quiet game when it comes to onboard AI, it’s been working on these sorts of projects for years. The Euro manufacturers tend to publicize their developments more broadly, but Kawasaki has been working on innovative artificial intelligence that connects a motorcycle’s performance to the rider’s emotions, and other similar interesting tech.
Kawasaki’s patent drawings show the radar systems attached to a Versys, and the 1000 cc version of that street-friendly ADV bike would be a sensible place to expect this technology, or maybe on a version of the H2 platform?
Welcome to 2010! About time!