Motorcycles learn to ‘talk car’

Motorcycles learn to ‘talk car’

A consortium, including vehicle manufacturers and the FIM, today launches a standard for motorcycles to be able to communicate with other vehicles as well as pieces of infrastructure and each other. The standard is expected to have long-term benefits for motorcycle safety.

The Connected Motorcycle Consortium (CMC) is a collaboration between manufacturers, suppliers, researchers and associations to make Powered Two Wheelers (motorcycles and scooters) part of the future connected mobility.

CMC is a non-profit organisation established by key motorcycle makers with the unilateral goal to promote and develop Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems (C-ITS) on a global scale.

This consortium, created in 2016, is known as the Connected Motorcycle Consortium (CMC). The aim of the consortium is to improve motorcycle rider safety and comfort, a goal generally shared by the FIM, hence our involvement and support. Other members of the consortium include motorcycle manufacturers, suppliers and researchers.

The standard, known as the Basic Specification of Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems (C-ITS) for motorcycles and other Powered Two-Wheelers (PTW), is comprised of a set of documents which address various topics including triggering conditions, localisation accuracy, algorithms and communicated data and rider interface and antenna performance. The CMC has been working on around 30 different applications for this technology ranging from alerting riders to the nearest refuelling/recharging opportunity to blind-spot warning technology.

By allowing different types of vehicles to communicate with each other for the first time, it is expected that many accidents could simply be avoided. One such accident is the common “looked but failed to see” scenario where a car driver inadvertently pulls out in front of a motorcycle. The C-ITS standard means that the motorcycle could now alert the car to the presence of the motorcycle allowing the car to activate its autonomous emergency braking (AEB) system.

Mr Jorge Viegas, President of the FIM said “Technology is hard to integrate into motorcycles, but it is clear that some technology can help motorcycles share the road safely. We teach riders about the importance of eye-contact with other road users, but allowing motorcycles to ‘talk car’ adds another layer of communication that will inevitably save thousands of lives for decades to come.”

Claire Depré, Head of Unit Sustainable & Intelligent Transport, DG Mobility and Transport, EC has congratulated CMC “for the work carried out, for bringing much more innovation and contributing to the safety of the overall transport system.”

For more information, please visit: www.cmc-info.net

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