PTW instrumentation for the study of riders behaviour

Passive and active automotive safety has progressed considerably in recent years. However, this trend is less well-defined for PTW safety. Many research studies have dealt with the protection of the driver (using helmets and, more recently, airbags). The airbag developed by Honda took 15 years of research and development [IHOY98] [KNI05] [YIY01] and is currently only implemented on one “premium” model.
The wired version of a rider airbag has been deployed for less than ten years. In France, SUMOTORI [SUM07] and DAMOTO [DAM11] projects have led to the development of algorithms for fall detection and the design of a wireless trigger system.
Moreover, the generalization of ABS on PTWs has still not been achieved and coupled braking systems are still rarely integrated. Designing systems for PTWs is particularly complex because of the particular dynamics of these vehicles and the tight coupling between the rider and the vehicle. In addition, the acceptability and integration of devices are problematic; thus, their development requires extensive studies of rider/vehicle interaction.
In a vehicle, on-board measurements are performed by a multi-sensor architecture that implements electronic sensors, signal amplifiers and processing units.
Several multi-sensor architectures have been designed for use in four-wheeled vehicles; these, for example, measure the forces that act on a vehicle. The aim is to achieve a control/command architecture [BFLMR03], or to allow partially automatic vehicle driving [GLPDD02]. For commercial vehicles or control/command
applications (eg ESP), a dozen sensors are used [FLE01].
With regard to PTWs, there is little in the way of state-of-the-art embedded multi-sensor architectures. Only two research laboratories have presented PTW instrumentation studies: the Mechanics Laboratory of Padua University in Italy [BDL00] and the DARPA Challenge Blue Team in UC Berkeley, United States [LSKSLSLM05]. Some motorcycle manufacturers may use this type of instrumented system to validate their products.
The poor state of the art prompted the SA/IEF team to design an ad-hoc multi-sensor architecture. The team was able to prototype vehicles (either four-wheeled or two-wheeled) by applying its expertise in the hardware instantiation of technological IPs, taking into account the acquisition/processing time (multi-sensor
time-stamping) [BRLE07]. Their design of instrumented and automated vehicles and their proof of concept validated the multi-level hardware-software co-design approach.
This approach was used in collaboration with the Ifsttar laboratory, which carried out a study of motorcycle instrumentation [LBME06]. A database of normal driving situations and falls was carried out with a precise synchronization of sensor data [BL06], [SUM07]. This work enabled the design of a triggering system for a motorcycle “AirBag” as part of the DAMOTO project [BELB13], [RAD11]. It has recently been implemented on a robotic motorcycle. This automated stand-alone bike platform is the fourth of its kind in the world [KBEB12].