BMW Has Built A Self-Driving Motorcycle

By Dan Anderson ● Sep 20, 2018

 

BMW Motorrad, the motorcycle arm of the German automaker, recently showcased a self-driving version of the R1200GS motorcycle. BMW spent more than two years developing the self-driving motorcycle. In the video above, you can see the self-driving R1200GS in action. The self-driving R1200GS is able to accelerate, lean, and brake on its own.

Unfortunately, we won’t see this bike on the road. BMW developed this self-driving motorcycle to learn more about how to implement the safety features rather than making it available for consumers.

“The prototype helps us to expand our knowledge about the vehicle’s dynamics so that we can classify the rider’s behavior and determine if a future situation will become dangerous or not,” said Motorrad safety engineer Stefan Hans in the video via Engadget. “If so, we can inform, warn or intervene directly.”

With the technology built into this bike, BMW will develop new safety systems that will be implemented in future models in order to support riders who may need assistance.

Cars have been the primary focus when it comes to assistive technology. So it is good to see motorcycles starting to get some attention now too.

This is especially important because motorcycle riders are 28 times higher to have fatal accidents compared to car passengers, according to an NHTSA study. 

This could take some time because there are many variables when it comes to motorcycle safety. For example, hitting the brakes on a car may not cause any harm to the driver or passengers. But this could cause motorcycle riders to fall off the bike.