Multistrada V4 to feature front & rear radar
Ducati have announced the upcoming Multistrada V4 will feature front and rear radar as part of its technology loadout, leaving riders hanging out for more information on the Multistrada V4, as the V4 powerplant configuration expands into further models, with more information expected to be officially released shortly.
For the fourth generation of the Multistrada, Ducati has developed a new, light and compact V4 engine, designed to meet the needs required for “adventouring” use. The complete redesign made it possible to reach new even longer maintenance intervals for the world of two wheels. All the details of this new engine will be revealed on 15 October. For now we have to settle for info on another Ducati first, which we’ll see on the Multistrada V4.
Ducati is bringing radar to production bikes, confirming what was anticipated in 2018, with the adoption of these systems marking a new level of riding assistance technology, especially for long motorway journeys.
Radar are advanced aid systems capable of reconstructing the surroundings of the motorcycle. Ducati’s interest in this type of systems dates back to 2016, when the Company worked in collaboration with the Department of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering of the Politecnico di Milano to experiment with this type of system.
This first experience has confirmed the applicability of this kind of technology to vehicles on two wheels, and has pushed Ducati to the creation of a complete package of riding assistance using two radars that, within four years, has been developed and produced in close cooperation with Bosch, a top-level technology partner, and sees its first application on the new Multistrada V4.
Each radar has compact dimensions (70 x 60 x 28 mm, similar to a modern action camera) and integrates into the bike, weighing only 190 grams. The radar positioned in the front of the vehicle controls the operation of the ACC (Adaptive Cruise Control), which by means of controlled braking and acceleration automatically adjusts the distance (selectable on four levels) from other vehicles when riding at a speed between 30 and 160 km/h.
This car-derived system has been evolved and developed according to the dynamics and ergonomics of a two-wheeled vehicle. In particular, the authority of the system in terms of deceleration and acceleration has been limited in order to ensure the rider can maintain constant control of the vehicle in any situation. The aim of the system is to allow for more comfortable riding, especially on long motorway journeys.
The rear radar is able to detect and report vehicles positioned in the so-called blind spot, i.e. the area not visible either directly by the rider or through the rear-view mirror. The BSD (Blind Spot Detection) system also signals the approaching from behind of vehicles at high speed, in a similar fashion to many modern cars featuring warning lights in rear-view mirrors for their blind spots.
To underline the technical-scientific value of the research project, carried out jointly by Ducati engineers and researchers and undergraduates from the Politecnico di Milano, a patent application relating to the control algorithms of this system was filed in May 2017. In June 2017, a scientific publication was presented at the IEEE – Intelligent Vehicles Symposium (IV) in Redondo Beach, California.
