By Ariel Grossman, NoCamels -
A revolutionary safety system using cameras to scan a motorcycle’s surroundings and alert drivers in real time is the first commercially available solution of its kind.
Israel’s Ride Vision uses front and rear wide-angle cameras to monitor the environment around the motorcycle and deliver instant alerts to the rider in the form of blinking lights on the bike’s side mirrors.
Automated safety solutions are plentiful for cars and trucks, from driver drowsiness detection to automatic emergency braking. But motorcycles, which along with mopeds and e-bikes account for almost 30 percent of road crash deaths each year, according to the World Health Organization, have not had any such systems in place.
Each alert on the system is easily understood: An orange light tells riders not to change trajectory, either because a vehicle is in their blind spot or because they are about to be overtaken; a steady red light tells riders to keep their distance when they are too close to the vehicle in front; and a blinking red light means that they are in danger of a frontal collision.
Because motorcyclists designed the system, it understands how they think and move while riding, the company says.
“The entire system works on the psychology of riders, and understanding what will be helpful to the rider to understand the environment, and based on that build the right path or trajectory to move forward,” Ride Vision CEO Uri Lavi, himself a motorcyclist, tells NoCamels.
One example of this is Ride Vision’s “dangerous overtake” alert. Lavi says that bikers don’t use their mirrors but rather turn their heads to scan the environment before deciding to change trajectory. This results in a major blind spot for riders when another bike or vehicle is about to overtake them at a high speed.
“If our system alerts the rider that they are about to be overtaken by another vehicle, they’ll know that they shouldn’t waste their time moving their head, and can focus on what lies ahead of them,” Lavi explains.
The device, which motorcyclists can install themselves, comes either as an indicator that clips onto the motorcycle’s side mirrors or as universal, one-size-fits-all mirrors with built-in lights that can replace any bike’s existing mirrors.
The algorithms used on the cameras run through a small unit, or the “brain” of the system, which connects to the front and rear cameras, as well as the clip-on lights.
The unit is charged by the motorcycle’s battery, which means that the rider never has to worry about it running out of juice. Soon, the system will be able to alert riders to rear collisions, as well as make emergency calls.
The Ride Vision system also connects to a uniquely designed app, which displays a cumulative report showing how many alerts the rider received during a specific time period, what kinds of alerts they received, the total distance traveled, and average and maximum speed.
The company says this kind of information can help riders calculate fuel costs and consumption, and help reduce insurance fees.
It is currently installed on motorbikes used by Israel’s national emergency service, Magen David Adom, among others.
The Herzliya-headquartered company is currently working with motorcycle manufacturers to embed its safety solutions at the point of production. The basic model is available for around $650, with the pro edition costing approximately $800.
Lavi says that being the sole commercially available motorcycle safety solution is not the only thing that sets Ride Vision apart from its competitors, which are still in development or in the pilot stage.
“It’s a product that really knows how to deal with even the most congested environments,” he says. He cites the device’s use in India, which he describes as the most difficult traffic imaginable in the world.
“Our advanced rider assistance solution deals effectively with this [kind of] environment. And that’s because we have very special algorithms that we built to deal with the unique maneuverability of the bike,” he says.
Ride Vision first started retailing its products three years ago. It sells its safety solution to fleet operators, and to dealerships and distributors, which resell them to end consumers. In a few weeks, he says, individual bikers will be able to buy the solution directly from the company’s website.
