Future BMW bikes to feature radar-based Active Cruise Control

BMW Motorrad is working on a new Active Cruise Control (ACC) safety and convenience feature which will be incorporated in its future bikes. It is developing this rider assistance system with Bosch.

The ACC system is nothing new as this technology has been used in cars for a long time now but for motorcycles it yet not very common.

It eliminates the need of constantly regulating the throttle depending up on the road and traffic conditions as the system automatically regulates the speed set by the user along with the distance with the moving vehicle at the front. This distance is continuously monitored using a radar sensor mounted over at the front of the bike, and this detail, along with yaw rate and current speed predicts the path the motorcycle may take in the next 100 metres. Based on this data, the system modulates speed to avoid a potential collision.

The riding speed and distance with the front vehicle can be set using buttons and the individual settings displayed over the instrument panel. The BMW Motorrad ACC has two control configurations: Comfortable or Dynamic. This choice decides how aggressively the bike accelerates or stops. The system also functions when the bike is cornering and prevents unexpected acceleration or deceleration while the bike is leaning into a bend.

The ACC system only takes moving vehicles in account and doesn't respond to stationary or parked vehicles. Presently, the company has yet not confirmed as to when the system will be launched and which specific models will be the first to receive it.