Italian motorcycle giant Piaggio is developing active radar technology to help autonomous cars 'see' smaller road vehicles.

Piaggio Making Bikes More Visible

Motorcycles are traditionally the least visible vehicles on the road, giving rise to endless driver claims of 'sorry, I didn't see you' after an accident. To make motorcycles physically larger isn't possible and anyway would negate one of the benefits of riding a motorcycle.

One problem that is starting to rear its ugly head involves the rise of autonomous cars. The driving systems in these rely on signal generators and sensors to detect whats around them. With motorcycles being relatively small, the problem is a car's systems ability to detect them. The solution is to make the motorcycle 'larger' in terms of the reflection of the signal back to the car.

At present, there are various passive systems in development, including one from BMW that uses marine technology in the form of golf ball-size reflectors. BMW’s idea is to fit the small reflectors on the extremities of a bike – notably the bars and the ends of the axles – to bounce radar waves back at the system which emitted them.

The issue has been elevated to a new importance due to a report published by the Law Commission, an independent statutory body that makes sure our laws are up-to-date and recommends reforms. The Automated Vehicle Act aims to shift accountability for accidents involving the new generation of autonomous vehicles from the individual operating the machinery to the manufacturer. Even the Euro NCAP safety rating system has added tests assessing the efficiency of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) to 'see' motorcycles and, even though the findings do not compel car manufacturers to improve the performance of their detection systems, it is a step in the right direction.

Passive systems such as BMW's are one solution by another is active radar technology and this is the route chosen by Italian motorcycle giant Piaggio.

The premise of Piaggio's system is simple. Two reflectors are mounted at the front and back of the motorcycle. These receive the radar signal and amplify them before sending them back to the source, making the motorcycle appear larger to the car sending the signals. Mounting the reflectors in the headlight and tail light would hide them and provide a power source.

In the event that the front and rear reflectors 'miss' a few degrees of coverage at the sides of the bike, additional reflectors could be mounted behind side panels.