Vehicle Detection Systems

[Pplater]

Does anyone know whether there are any radar or laser products out there that allows one to detect vehicles around a bend/in bad visibility etc? Much like how a plane radar works in collision deterrence.

 

Did a futile search on the net. Most of such products are in the trial stages etc, done by colleges or engineering teams. Couldn't get a hit on a finished product that can complement a rider's own mental radar system of the surrounding.

 

My thinking is that both systems used together is much better than using only one.

[gorgonitz82]

just some thoughts ... there are many kinds of detection algo... some simply detect by a transmitter/receiver fixed on ur vehicle n other vehicles. In this way, the system knows who is in proximity. But that is not enough. The system has to know if both vehicles are moving towards each other. This can be done by tracking. But this is not enough. On real roads, the oncoming vehicles travel antiparallel to each other, and at times when there are bends, 2 approaching vehicles on separate lanes may be detected as going to collide. Thus, render the system not robust enough. To have a really robust system would not come so soon. Currently, simple stuff like pure detection should be available, but they are utterly useless in the real world.

[Pplater]

Yes.. There are many technical difficulties. I only thought of a few useful senarios. On NSH, hantu lorry on emergency lane or lane 2, if you do not have HID, at least u get a radar hit it is there. Nevertheless, one should never rely on such things for safety. But it could complement the rider's visual checks as a safety backup.

 

And in bends, it is pretty useless for collision path detection, as this could occur very late into the bend or when 2 vehicles are so close to each other that driver reaction is not enough to avoid even though the driver was warned. But imagine you know whether it is clear before you enter the bend. Thats pretty good. Of course, one should leave safety clearance, lest there is oil spill etc.

 

There are currently some products on the market for riders to avoid animals dashing across the road, proven to reduce accidents by up to 82%, came across some website. But its not practical unless u use trunk roads so often.

 

But imagine a system of say range 200 metres, all round awareness of the car behind your tailgator, or whether there's another bike coming fast from behind in between vehicles, those that are out of sight. U can spot those aggressive drivers from way back weaving in and out or agressive riders weaving in and out. You can then take earlier action as you want, filter when its all clear. Or a large blink, a lorry coming damn fast, sure u dun want to stay there at the same spot eh? Time to pull away or change lane. Range can be increased to accmodate NSH riding?

 

I'm looking for vehicle detection systems that could warn riders of the presence of vehicles where line of sight is blocked. Even in limitted range, immediate 360 awareness at one glance is better than check left right mirror and blindspot mirrors etc. One look 360. Isn't that great? While i do not intend to depend on it, it is a good tool to enhance situational awareness. To see without seeing. hehe.. But until such a proven system is on the market, guess I can only depend on my eyes and ears, and to assume something is there until proven otherwise when i do not know for sure. Guess no one heard of such a finished product?

[gorgonitz82]

i see ... I think i was misguided into thinking you are looking for a fool-proof anti-collision system. haha. Yep i if it is only to detect vehicles in the vicinity it should be simple. With the help of GPS system, other vehicles can transmit addtional data like their GPS location as well. In this way, when u receive signals from other vehicles .. u know their position as well. Thus plotting their location would be easy. GPS system plotting ur vehicle movement is already widely used. But the part on beaming signals, I m not very sure. However, this method would require all vehicles to be fitted with a transmitter/receiver module. Otherwise, u can never detect the vehicle. So I guess this method would not be sensible again in that sense.

[zod]

It won't be small enough to fit on a bike.

 

If it is made that small, the price will be too high for an average person to pay.

[Pplater]

It would be difficult to have a collision detection system. If a car position itself on a minor road at the stop line. or slow down into it, the best machanical systems in the world cannot read the driver's intentions. To date, only humans can judge such circumstances, or take evasive measures earlier and assume the worse.

 

I was hoping for something that could read the presence of cars/hazards around me in a radius of 50 metres? Or longer at faster speeds. This may help where line of sight is blocked. GPS technology, as you mentioned, may require all vehicles to be fitted with a signal emitter, which is not going to be possible. I was hoping was a radar product that could "ping" the surrouding. It surprises me such products are not easily available, perhaps as pointed out, the costs are prohibitive.

 

My only recourse at the moment, a stupid idea at that, is to fit thermal imaging products to a conventional camera mounted on my bike. This could be fun. Picking up "red" patches on my LCD screen. But i think line of sight is needed to read a "hot" object/hazard, which does not meet my initial requirement. So... Haiz... I'm still thinking of trying this out. Haha...