Suzuki Awarded Patent for Laser Technology to Alert Other Road Users

For a biker, getting the attention of other road users has always been a daily quest. On any given day, you can see ever more flashing lights and twinkling gizmos adorning motorcycles.

Personally, I have reservations about much of these efforts, and it could be said that the law of diminishing returns may come into play, the more of these lights that festoon ever more machines.

Anything you can do to help other road users notice you is a good thing, of course. However, I feel that it is most important that, firstly, we work to improve our riding and awareness to compensate for other drivers’ inattention. Such techniques are, of course, the focus of this blog.

However, Suzuki have decided to investigate a more proactive approach to the twinklies, and are considering using lasers on their motorcycles. Not just any old lasers, though. As shown by their patent filing, these lasers change colour, shape and distance depending on the action that the motorcyclist is taking.

Operation

As demonstrated by the patent drawings, the system feeds into the bike’s computer and sensors, and change according to the speed and lean angle of the machine, the proximity of the bike to other objects, and the proximity of other road users to the machine.

The Lasers will project triangular patterns onto the roadway all around the machine, creating a “safety buffer”.

As the machine speeds up, the size of these buffers will increase, creating a greater safety margin around the machine. Conversely, they will shrink as the bike slows down. There can be many uses for this facility. The projected image at the rear can serve as a warning to following drivers to keep their distance, while the projection at front could serve as an indication of stopping distance—thereby helping the rider to maintain a safe distance from the vehicle in front.

The lights will also configure themselves when the machine comes to a stop. Aside from the now familiar strobe “back-off” lights, the lasers will project a large “X” on the road behind the bike when it is stopped. I can imagine that this would indeed force many drivers to keep their distance.

When turning, the lasers will adjust themselves according to information from the lean angle sensors and, aside from adjusting their angle so that they don’t dazzle other road users, they will change colour, and flash a large turn signal onto the roadway.

It remains to be seen whether this technology comes to fruition, and indeed how much it may help with inattentive car drivers, but as is often said in the world of motorcycle safety, every little helps.

And for those guys who are currently bolting on ever more flashing gizmos and eye candy to their bikes, your dreams may be coming true!

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