Ducati range to be fitted with ABS Cornering and future-oriented radar systems

April 19, 2018 0 By The Editor

Ducati has always been a pioneer regarding safety and so far the only motorcycle manufacturer world-wide to have a vehicle able to interact with the jacket-integrated D|air^® system, and the first company in the industry to equip a heritage/classic model – Ducati Scrambler 1100, with the ABS Cornering system. This level of safety awareness, combined with the constant drive towards innovation, has led the Bologna-based manufacturer to define its safety strategy until 2025.

At the base of this many-sided strategic plan is the implementation of ARAS (Advanced Rider Assistance Systems) on Ducati motorcycles. These systems increase rider safety levels via a number of sensors, including radars. They provide feedback on the surrounding environment – helping to prevent possible collisions with obstacles or other vehicles by alerting the rider.

Ducati started developing these systems as early as 2016, in conjunction with the Department of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering of the Politecnico di Milano University. The study has led to the development of a warning system based on the rear radar, able to identify and point out vehicles present in the “blind spot” or traffic approaching at high speed from the back. In May 2017 Ducati filed a patent application concerning the system control algorithms, and a Scientific Publication was presented at the IEEE – Intelligent Vehicles Symposium (IV) on June 11-14, 2017, at Redondo Beach, CA, USA.

Again in 2017, Ducati selected a primary technological partner to ensure system suitability for production – by completing the package with a second radar sensor positioned at the front so as to manage the adaptive cruise control, allowing a given distance (which can be set by the user) to be maintained from the vehicle in front, and warning the rider of any risks of distraction-related head-on collisions. All these systems, together with an advanced user interface designed to alert the rider to any existing dangers, will be available on one of the Ducati models coming in 2020.

The first phase of “Safety Road Map 2025” already includes the progressive extension of Bosch ABS Cornering to the whole product range. This system enhances active braking ensuring top-level safety. If standard ABS ensures control of tyre grip loss during braking only when the motorcycle is travelling in a straight line, the more advanced Cornering version allows full braking grip control even when cornering, effectively ruling out the risk of falling during the delicate corner-entry phase. Ducati has confirmed its safety strategy value by introducing the Bosch ABS Cornering system also in its Ducati Scrambler family – fitting it to the top-of-the-range version, the 1100.