Automatische Notbremssysteme für Motorräder

Motorcycle riders are part of the group of vulnerable road users. However – in contrast to systems such as ABS and traction control – assistance systems such as autonomous emergency braking have not yet been introduced in powered two-wheelers. One of the reasons for this is the one-track vehicle specific riding dynamics such as, e.g., the unstable behavior of the system. The aim of the project FE 82.0661/2015 'Autonomous emergency braking for motorcycles' was to determine the limits of the applicability of such systems. Besides the physical limits, it is also necessary to consider the limits determined by the rider capabilities. The rider is an integral part of the unstable rider-vehicle-system and needs to be able to control the intervention of an emergency braking system as otherwise destabilization or even a fall can occur. First, an expert study was perfomed to determine which decelerations are acceptable for average riders. The experts were riding teachers and instructors who are used to assess the abilities of unexperienced riders. With the knowledge on which decelerations are applicable, a participant study was performed. The aim of this study was to evaluate to what extent different kinds of autonomous braking interventions are suitable to help the rider in an emergency braking situation and which improvements they offer compared to emergency braking maneuvers performed by the rider. Due to safety reasons, the riding studies with participants are only performed while going straight ahead and with full concentration on the riding task. To investigate the consequences of autonomous emergency braking maneuvers in more critical situations (e.g. one-hand or free-hand riding), additional studies are performed on the dynamic motorcycle riding simulator at the Würzburg Institute for Traffic Sciences (WIVW). Additionally, the influence of warning elements was evaluated. The studies showed that with suitable autonomous braking interventions, the initial speed can almost be reduced to half before the rider even starts to apply the brakes. The simulator experiments showed that warning elements can have a positive influence on the rider reaction.