From Guest Blogger Jordan: Jaguar's “Bike Sense” System Aims to Improve Cyclist Safety

One of the most common problems faced by cyclists are inattentive motorists, failing to give them right of way or driving too close to them, putting cyclists’ safety at risk. Even though traffic accidents involving cyclists are pretty common, automakers have not been focused on trying to find a solution that would prevent these type of accidents, but Jaguar Land Rover is looking to change that. The British manufacturer has been working on a new safety system, that can make the road much safer for cyclists.

The “Bike Sense” is an active safety system that addresses arguably the leading cause of bike accidents, which is the fact that drivers are often not aware of a cyclist’s presence. A lot of bicycle accidents are caused by distracted drivers, drunk drivers, or fatigued or drowsy drivers, as these are the types of risky driver behaviors that prevent motorists from staying focused on what’s happening on the road and being aware of their surroundings, which may include cyclists and pedestrians, in addition to other cars.

That’s why Jaguar’s system aims to make drivers aware of a cyclist’s presence, issuing various alerts after detecting a cyclist approaching the vehicle. Using several sensors attached to the car, Bike Sense monitors the vehicle’s surroundings and detects other moving objects. It can distinguish between cars, motorcycles, bicycles and pedestrians, and the minute it identifies a bike rider, it warns the driver and prompts them to take appropriate action and avoid hitting the rider.

It is a pretty intricate and comprehensive system, that can assess the exact position of a bike relative to the car, and determine whether the bike is in the car’s blind zone, next to one of the front doors, or trying to pass the car, which helps the driver decide what exactly they need to do in order to avoid a collision with the cyclist. For instance, if there is a cyclist in the driver’s blind spot, Bike Sense will tap the driver’s left or right shoulder, depending on which side of the car the bike is on. The tap is done through an extension of the car seat that vibrates when a bicycle is detected.

In case the cyclist tries to overtake the vehicle, a series of LED lights on the dashboard, the window sills and the windscreen pillars will illuminate, alerting the driver to slow down and let the bike pass them. Also, to let the driver know what direction the bike is coming from, Bike Sense issues an audible alert through the car’s speaker that is nearest to the bike, which sounds like a bicycle bell. Finally, the system can make the door handles light up and vibrate, to warn vehicle occupants not to open the doors if there is a bike approaching.

“Bike Sense” takes us beyond the current technologies of hazard indicators and icons in wing mirrors, to optimizing the location of light, sound and touch to enhance this intuition. This creates warnings that allow a faster cognitive reaction as they engage the brain’s instinctive responses. If you see the dashboard glowing red in your peripheral vision, you will be drawn to it and understand straight away that another road user is approaching that part of your vehicle,” said Dr Wolfgang Epple, Director of Research and Technology at Jaguar Land Rover.