BMW Motorrad will display two innovations at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas – a laser light for motorcycles and a helmet with a head-up display. The company hopes to set new standards of motorcycle safety with these two products.
The BMW head-up display helmet projects necessary or desirable traffic or vehicle information directly into the rider’s field of vision.
This means that the rider no longer has to look at the instrument panel and is able to concentrate fully and without distraction on traffic.
The display options comprise safety-relevant information. This includes data relating to the technical status of the motorcycle such as tyre pressure, oil level and fuel level, travel speed and selected gear, speed limit and road sign recognition, plus warnings of impending dangers.
By means of the future V2V (vehicle-to-vehicle) communication, it might also be possible to display information in real time, for example, to give due warning of impending hazards.
The helmet with head-up display also offers the possibility of making the highly heady experience of riding a motorcycle even more intensive but at the same time safer. For instance, an action camera pointing forwards, located inside the helmet, can record video footage of the journey directly from the helmet.
A second camera oriented towards the rear could at some point in the future perform the function of a ‘digital rear-view mirror’. And last but not least, this technology also enables the visualisation of other riders in a motorcycle group. This enables the rider to see where his companions are at any given moment.
The helmet is also fitted with an integrated mini-computer and loudspeakers and is controlled from the left-hand handlebar fittings using the BMW Motorrad multi-controller. Apart from operating the camera, this allows the rider to comfortably select the information he requires.
BMW Motorrad wants to develop this innovative technology to series-production level within the next few years.
The company has also showcased the BMW K 1600 GTL concept vehicle with BMW Motorrad laser light. The BMW Motorrad laser light is derived from a design from the automobile division of the BMW Group. The innovative laser technology is already available in the new BMW 7 Series as well as in the BMW i8.
The laser light headlamps generate particularly bright and pure-white light and they can even achieve a high-beam range of up to 600 metres, which is double that of conventional headlights.
BMW Motorrad laser light has been incorporated in the K 1600 GTL concept vehicle as a feasibility test by the company.
At the moment, the technology is still too cost-intensive to be used in motorcycles. However, it is expected that the economies of scale resulting from their large-scale use in the automobile industry will result in a price structure with a clear downward trend.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)