Bosch Is Developing V2V Communication Tech for Motorcycles

Bosch Mobility Solutions has announced a prototype vehicle-to-vehicle communication system that it describe as a "digital protection shield." The company predicts it could prevent one-third of all motorcycle accidents.

Vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) is a technology that allows vehicles to communicate important data to each other. For example, every new Cadillac CTS sedan is equipped with V2V; as a result, each one can talk to other CTS sedans within a radius of about 1,000 feet. When one car comes across a hazard that requires hard braking, it can communicate that information to other cars, so the driver knows about it before they see it. 

This technology could be extremely advantageous to motorcyclists, for whom visibility is a big issue. Far too many motorcycle accidents occur as a result of a driver in a car not seeing them. A V2V system on a motorcycle that communicates with V2V-equipped cars can emit a notification saying something to the effect of, “Hey, there’s a motorcycle nearby. Don’t hit it.”

But how does the V2V system send a notification to the motorcyclist when they need it? Bosch demonstrates that the system can talk to the rider through an in-helmet headset, presumably via Bluetooth. So if you don’t have audio in your helmet or if you’re "too cool" to wear a helmet, you might not get much out of this high-tech system.

The new Bosch system uses ITS G5, which is the public wireless local area network standard. This ensures that it can communicate with multiple types of existing and future V2V systems, not just other Bosch systems. With the Bosch system, parked and idling vehicles can also transmit data. These can present as much or more of a hazard as a moving vehicle, so this will likely be advantageous for both cars and bikes in preventing accidents.

Check out the video below by Bosch Mobility Solutions to see more of the system.