Thunder Roads Magazine Louisiana November 2016 | Page 12
Photos From
New Orleans Bike Week
I promised part two from last month, so here it is…For the first bike rally in NOLA since before Katrina, it was quite an
experience. Some of the Thunder Roads La. Road crew were there and we could not have had a better time with the
Road Hawg crewe in the spot next to us. And the music was off the chain! One of our favorite bands, The Charlie Brectel
band headlined Friday night and not one performance by any of the bands left you disappointed. The numbers may have
been low, but that’s ok, cause next year will be even better. Thank you to all who participated and the promoters promise
an even better show next year! Enjoy the montage of photos by Kurbster Photography and Clarke Jones!
Motorcycles Become Part Of
The Connected Vehicle World
Bordeaux/France, October 6,2015 – Yamaha Motor Co. Ltd.(Tokyo:7272) , BMW Motorrad and Honda 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.
Prof. Dr.
Karl Viktor Schaller,
Executive Vice President
Development BMW
Motorrad
Tetsuo Suzuki,
Operating Officer at
Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
Takaaki Kimura,
Executive Vice President
and Representative
Director of Yamaha Motor
Co., Ltd.
“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.”
“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
10 THUNDER ROADS MAGAZINE LOUISIANA
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.”
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 simTDTD (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
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