Motorcycle collision alert and management system

Abstract

Various examples are provided related to motorcycle collision alerting. In one example, a system for motorcycle collision alerting includes a forward distance sensor; a human machine interface unit with a visual interface component; and a main unit including at least one computing device with at least one processor and at least one memory including executable instructions. The instructions, when executed, can cause the at least one computing device to at least: identify device configuration data for the system for motorcycle collision alerting; receive sensor data for the forward distance sensor; process the sensor data for the forward distance sensor, according to the device configuration data to identify an alert condition specified in the device configuration data; and transmit a signal or a command that causes the human machine interface unit to generate an alert corresponding to the alert condition

Description

MOTORCYCLE COLLISION ALERT AND MANAGEMENT SYSTEMCROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims priority to, and the benefit of, U.S. provisional application entitled “Motorcycle Collision Alert and Management System” having serial no. 63 / 549,610, filed February 5, 2024, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.BACKGROUND

[0002] Fatalities involving motorcyclists are very high in many locations, despite that motorcycles account for a minority of the total average annual vehicle distance traveled, relative to cars, trucks, and other four wheeled vehicles. For example, road crashes resulted in 4,128 motorcycle fatalities (64.2% of total fatalities) in Malaysia according to 2018 statistics. Truck struck crashes, where a vehicle rams into the back of a tractor trailer, often result in the death of the following vehicle’s occupant(s). Because of the vulnerability of a motorcycle rider, truck struck crashes are particularly dangerous, and are nearly certain to end the life of the motorcycle rider(s). Data to support this is found in many lands, including the USA and Malaysia. In the US, between 2014 and 2018, 112 motorcycle rider deaths occurred in an estimated 311 recorded truck struck motorcycle-involved crashes. Put another way, based on those numbers, a motorcycle rider involved in a truck struck crash has approximately a 36% chance of dying. Such a severe critical crash outcome becomes more concerning when considering that the data shows a 71 % increase in truck struck crashes between 2017 and 2018. Assuming this trend continues, truck struck crash fatalities are also likely to increase in the coming years. One potential solution may be to make trucks more visible. However, truckside solutions are out of the hands of motorcycle riders and enterprises that utilize motorcycles.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0003] Many aspects of the present disclosure can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present disclosure. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

[0004] FIG. 1 illustrates an example networked environment for motorcycle collision alerting, in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0005] FIG. 2 illustrates further aspects of a networked environment for motorcycle collision alerting, in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0006] FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a motorcycle collision alerting system in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0007] FIG. 4 illustrates an example flowchart for motorcycle collision alerting in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0008] FIG. 5 illustrates an example of the operation of a motorcycle collision alerting system in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure.SUMMARY

[0009] Aspects of the present disclosure are related to motorcycle collision alerting. In one aspect, among others, a system for motorcycle collision alerting comprises a forward distance sensor; a human machine interface unit comprising a visual interface component; and a main unit comprising at least one computing device including at least one processor and at least one memory comprising executable instructions, where the instructions, when executed using the at least one processor cause the at least one computing device to at least: identify device configuration data for the system for motorcycle collision alerting; receive sensor data for the forward distance sensor; process the sensor data for the forward distance sensor, according to the device configuration data to identify an alert condition specified in the device configuration data; and transmit a signal or a command that causes the human machine interface unit to generate an alert corresponding to the alert condition. The forward distance sensor, the human machine interface unit, and / or the main unit can be detachably attached to a motorcycle.

[0010] In one or more aspects, the alert condition can indicate a particular alert severity level corresponding to a particular type of the alert generated by the human machine interface unit. The instructions, when executed using the at least one processor, can cause the at least one computing device to at least: transmit, to a server computing environment, motorcycle safety data comprising: an indication of the alert condition, the sensor data, and / or an identifier, wherein the identifier corresponds to at least one of a user, a motorcycle, or any combination thereof. The main unit can transmit the motorcycle safety data to the server computing environment using a network connection provided using a client device that is in communication with the main unit. In various aspects, the system can comprise an expansion unit comprising a global positioning sensor (GPS) device that provides GPS sensor data, wherein the sensor data comprises forward distance sensor data and the GPS sensor data. The expansion unit can further comprise a camera. The main unit can receive at least a portion of the sensor data from a client device that is in communication with the main unit.The sensor data from the client device can comprise GPS data, IMU data, orientation data, temperature data, pressure data and / or environmental data.

[0011] In another aspect, a method for motorcycle collision alerting comprises: receiving, by a main unit of a motorcycle collision alerting system, sensor data from at least a forward distance sensor of a motorcycle; identifying, by processing circuitry of the main unit, an alert condition based upon the sensor data and device configuration data associated with the motorcycle collision alerting system, the alert condition specified in the device configuration data; and initiating, by the processing circuitry of the main unit, generation of an alert corresponding to the alert condition for a user of the motorcycle. In one or more aspects, the processing circuitry can initiate generation of the alert by transmitting a signal or a command. The motorcycle collision alerting system can comprise a human machine interface (HMI) unit configured to generate the alert in response to the signal or command. The HMI unit can comprise a visual interface component.

[0012] In various aspects, the sensor data can comprise forward distance sensor data and global positioning sensor (GPS) data. The motorcycle collision alerting system can comprise an expansion unit comprising a GPS device. The expansion unit can further comprise one or more camera. The main unit can be communicatively coupled to a client device. The client device can be configured to generate the alert in response to the signal or command. In some or all aspects, the method can comprise transmitting, to a server computing environment, motorcycle safety data comprising: an indication of the alert condition, the sensor data, and an identifier, wherein the identifier corresponds to at least one of the user, the motorcycle, or any combination thereof. The processing circuitry can comprise at least one processor and at least one memory.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0013] Disclosed herein are various examples related to motorcycle collision alerting systems, devices, and methods. Fatalities involving motorcyclists are very high in many locations, despite that motorcycles account for a minority of the total average annual vehicle distance traveled relative to cars, trucks, and other vehicles. Truck struck crashes, where a vehicle rams into the back of a tractor trailer, often result in the death of the following vehicle’s occupant(s). Because of the vulnerability of a motorcycle rider, truck struck crashes are particularly dangerous, and are nearly certain to end the life of the motorcycle rider(s). Such severe critical crash outcomes become concerning in view of the high frequency of crash events. Accordingly, there is a need for technologies to help prevent motorcycle accidents from the motorcycle side. The present disclosure describes mechanisms that can help to prevent motorcycle accidents from the motorcycle side.

[0014] One example system for motorcycle collision alerting can include: a forward distance sensor; a human machine interface unit comprising a visual and audio interface component (with the potential to include other alert solutions, and combinations, including proprioceptive feedback); and a main unit comprises at least one computing device comprising at least one processor and at least one memory comprising executable instructions, wherein the main unit, wherein the instructions, when executed using the at least one processor can cause the at least one computing device to at least: identify device configuration data for the system for motorcycle collision alerting; receive sensor data for the forward distance sensor; process the sensor data for the forward distance sensor, according to the device configuration data to identify an alert condition specified in the device configuration data; and transmit a signal or a command that causes the human machine interface unit to generate an alert corresponding to the alert condition.

[0015] In some examples, the human machine interface unit, and the main unit can be detachably attached to a motorcycle. In some cases, the alert condition can indicate a particular alert severity level corresponding to a particular type of the alert generated by the human machine interface unit. In some examples, the main unit can also transmit, to a server computing environment, motorcycle safety data comprising: an indication of the alert condition, the sensor data, and an identifier, wherein the identifier corresponds to at least one of a user, a motorcycle, or any combination thereof. In some examples, the main unit can transmit the motorcycle safety data to the server computing device using a network connection provided using a client device that is in communication with the main unit. In some examples, the system can further include: an expansion unit comprising a global positioning sensor (GPS) device that provides GPS sensor data, wherein the sensor data comprises forward distance sensor data and the GPS sensor data. Additional embodiments and aspects are described with respect to the figures.

[0016] Referring next to FIG. 1 , shown is a network environment 100 that implements motorcycle collision alerting. The network environment 100 can include a motorcycle collision alerting system that includes one or more of a server computing environment 103, motorcycle safety alert devices 106, and client devices 112, which can be in data communication with each other via a network 115.

[0017] The network 115 can include wide area networks (WANs), local area networks (LANs), personal area networks (PANs), or a combination thereof. These networks can include wired or wireless components or a combination thereof. Wired networks can include Ethernet networks, cable networks, fiber optic networks, and telephone networks such as dial-up, digital subscriber line (DSL), and integrated services digital network (ISDN) networks. Wireless networks can include cellular networks, satellite networks, Institute of Electrical and ElectronicEngineers (IEEE) 802.11 wireless networks ( / .e., WI-FI®), BLUETOOTH® networks, microwave transmission networks, as well as other networks relying on radio broadcasts. The network 115 can also include a combination of two or more networks 206. Examples of networks 206 can include the Internet, intranets, extranets, virtual private networks (VPNs), and similar networks.

[0018] The server computing environment 103, while referred to in the singular, can include one or more computing devices that include a processor, a memory, and / or a network interface. For example, a computing device can be configured to perform computations on behalf of other computing devices or applications. As another example, such computing devices can host and / or provide content to other computing devices in response to requests for content. As another example, such computing devices can be a central computing device installed within a vehicle.

[0019] Moreover, the server computing environment 103 can refer to a plurality of computing devices that can be arranged in one or more server banks or computer banks or other arrangements. Such computing devices can be located in a single installation or can be distributed among many different geographical locations. For example, the server computing environment 103 can include a plurality of computing devices that together can include a hosted computing resource, a grid computing resource or any other distributed computing arrangement. In some cases, the server computing environment 103 can correspond to an elastic computing resource where the allotted capacity of processing, network, storage, or other computing-related resources can vary over time.

[0020] The motorcycle safety alert device 106 can include an assembly of one or more components that attach to a motorcycle. The motorcycle can refer to a two-wheeled vehicle with the two wheels substantially aligned in a longitudinal plane in an instance in which both wheels are in a nominal straight forward position. The wheels of a motorcycle can be aligned along a centerline of the motorcycle. Motorcycles can include scooters, stand up scooters, cruisers, standard motorbikes, street motorcycles, mopeds, dirt bikes, supermotos, and other configurations including 3-wheeled vehicles such as trikes and tuk-tuks. Collectively twowheeled and three-wheeled vehicles that are the focus of this patent can be referred to Powered Two- and three-wheeled vehicles (PTW). The motorcycle safety alert device 106 can detect proximity to objects ahead, and can generate one or more visual and / or audible alerts that notify a rider of the motorcycle to potential dangers. In some examples, the motorcycle safety alert device 106 can include a single forward-facing sensor, which is valuable for motorcycle safety in view of the narrow size of motorcycles relative to other vehicles such as four-wheeled vehicles. Furthermore, the motorcycle safety alert device 106 can include attachment devices that temporarily or detachably attach the motorcycle safety alert device106 to the motorcycle, unlike car and other vehicle systems that are integrated with the vehicle. However, some implementations of the motorcycle safety alert device 106 can include motorcycle safety alert devices 106 that are integrated or manufactured as a part of the motorcycle.

[0021] The motorcycle safety alert device 106 can include components including a main unit, a forward facing distance sensor, and a Human-Machine Interface (HMI) unit. The motorcycle safety alert device 106 can also include an optional expansion unit that includes additional sensors and storage. In some cases, two or more of these major components can be integrated into a single unit. However, in other examples, the various units can include separate computing devices and / or enclosures. The various individual components can also include physical wired connections and / or wireless connections. In wired embodiments, the wired components that are connected to the main unit can utilize the compute and power of the main unit over the wired connection. However, in both wired and wireless embodiments, the components can also include separate computing devices, power supplies and so on.

[0022] The main unit of the motorcycle safety alert device 106 can include a power supply management system, a battery or power supply (e.g., battery backup), an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), one or more digital to analog converters (DACs), one or more amplifiers, one or more computing devices, a Bluetooth® (and / or WiFi and other wireless communication devices), and one or more data storage devices. The HMI unit can provide items for human input / control as well as visual and audible outputs for human interfacing. For example, the HMI unit can input devices such as a sensitivity adjustment knob and potentially other buttons and switches. However, other examples can include outputs such as a speaker for audible alerts and a display for visual alerts. The display or visual interface component can include a set of one or more individual LEDs with a single color or multiple colors. The display can also a screen or monitor on other examples. Some examples can include a touch screen.

[0023] The forward distance sensor of the motorcycle safety alert device 106 can include a Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) sensor, a Radio Detection and Ranging (RADAR) sensor, an image sensor (camera sensor), an infrared sensor, or a laser sensor, among others. In some examples, the device utilizes a single forward distance sensor. However, in some examples such as where the expansion device is used, one or more camera image sensors can be used with one of the other distance sensors such as a LiDAR sensor. The forward distance sensor can be affixed to a forward portion of the motorcycle, for example at or in front of the handlebar area, on a front wheel fender, front portion of a body fairing, a front crash guard bar, a fork guard, or another forward portion of a motorcycle.

[0024] The main unit of the motorcycle safety alert device 106 can send and receive information to and from the other components, as well as to and from a client device 112 and the server environment 103. In some examples, the main unit of the motorcycle safety alert device 106 can lack any connection to a wide area network, and can relay the motorcycle safety data 123 to the server environment 103 using a wired or wireless connection to the client device 112, and the client device 112 can forward the data to the server environment 103.

[0025] The client device 112 is representative of a plurality of client devices 112 that can be coupled to the network 112. The client device 112 can include a processor-based system such as a computer system. Such a computer system can be embodied in the form of a personal computer (e.g., a desktop computer, a laptop computer, or similar device), a mobile computing device (e.g., personal digital assistants, cellular telephones, smartphones, web pads, tablet computer systems, music players, portable game consoles, electronic book readers, and similar devices), media playback devices (e.g., media streaming devices, BluRay® players, digital video disc (DVD) players, set-top boxes, and similar devices), a videogame console, or other devices with like capability. The client device 112 can include one or more displays 184, such as liquid crystal displays (LCDs), gas plasma-based flat panel displays, organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays, electrophoretic ink (“E-ink”) displays, projectors, or other types of display devices. In some instances, the displays 184 can be a component of the client device 112 or can be connected to the client device 112 through a wired or wireless connection.

[0026] The client device 112 can be configured to execute various applications such as a client application or other applications. The client application can be executed in a client device 112 to access network content served up by the computing device(s) 103 or servers, thereby rendering a user interface on a display of the device. T o this end, the client application can include a browser, a dedicated application, or other executable, and the user interface can include a network page, an application screen, or other user mechanism for obtaining user input. The client device 112 can be configured to execute client applications 190 such as browser applications, chat applications, messaging applications, email applications, social networking applications, word processors, spreadsheets, or other applications.

[0027] Various applications or other functionality can be executed in the server computing environment 103. The components executed on the server computing environment 103 include a motorcycle safety data service 117, and other applications, services, processes, systems, engines, or functionality not discussed in detail herein. Various data is stored in a data store 120 that is accessible to the server computing environment 103. The data store 120 can be representative of a plurality of data stores 120, which can include relationaldatabases or non-relational databases such as object-oriented databases, hierarchical databases, hash tables or similar key-value data stores, as well as other data storage applications or data structures. Moreover, combinations of these databases, data storage applications, and / or data structures may be used together to provide a single, logical, data store. The data stored in the data store 120 is associated with the operation of the various applications or functional entities described below.

[0028] This data can include motorcycle safety data 123 and potentially other data. Motorcycle safety data 123 can include device configuration data 126, trip data 129 including alert events, time series data, statistical data, and other data such as a unique device identifier and unique enterprise identifier for respective ones of the motorcycle safety alert device 106. The enterprise identifier can uniquely identify a company or other enterprise that employs or utilizes the various motorcycle safety alert devices 106 for motorcycles used for enterprise purposes. The device identifier can uniquely identify a motorcycle safety alert device 106 of the various devices. These identifiers can enable an enterprise user such as a manager or administrator to review individual devices 106 for alert events in the alert event data 129 for the subset of devices (according to their identifiers) that are associated with the enterprise identifier. User data that identifies a user and motorcycle data that identifies a type of motorcycle can be stored in association with each device identifier.

[0029] The device configuration data 126 can specify a configuration of a particular motorcycle safety alert device 106. For example, the device configuration data 126 can indicate a hardware configuration and a software configuration for the motorcycle safety alert device 106. The hardware configuration can include a model number, a set of components used for that motorcycle safety alert device 106, as well as whether it is configured to use a client device 112. The hardware configuration can indicate whether this is a single-forward- sensor implementation or a forward sensor plus camera sensor implementation.

[0030] The software configuration can include a sensitivity setting that affects the sensitivity of the device to generate an alert. Multiple types or severities of alerts (for example, time-to-collision to forward objects from the motorcycle can trigger a set of escalating alerts from low to high where lesser time-to-collision indicate greater alerts). Greater alerts can include one or more of: higher brightness, more lights, flashing, and different colors relative to lesser alerts. The increased sensitivity values can cause the motorcycle safety alert device 106 to shift all of the alerts to greater time-to-collisions, while decreased sensitivity values can shift all of the alerts to lesser time-to-collisions. The software configuration can include brightness settings for alerts, color settings for alerts, and volume levels for audible alerts. The software configuration can also indicate how (and whether) the client device 112 display is to be used when connected. For example, the client device 112 can provide distanceinformation as well as visual and audible alerts in addition to or in lieu of the HMI unit. While time-to-collision is indicated, the system can detect distance and speed and calculate time-to- collision based on this sensor data. The system can also utilize one or more of distance, speed, time-to-collision, and other information in the various embodiments.

[0031] The trip data 129 can provide a set of timestamped instances of all sensor data, including alert events and other data. Trip data can be stored in association with a timestamp, an identifier for the device motorcycle safety alert device 106, the associated user data, enterprise identifier, motorcycle identifier, and other information. Sensor data such as GPS data, I MU data, distance sensor data and other sensor data can be included in the trip data 129. The trip data 129 can include the device configuration data 126 at the time of an alert event. The trip data 129 can include all alert events generated and presented to the rider.

[0032] While motorcycle safety data 123 is discussed as being stored in the server computing environment 103, it can initially be stored in the motorcycle safety alert device 106 and / or on client device 112. The motorcycle safety alert device 106 can transmit motorcycle safety data 123 to the client device 112. However, in some examples the client device 112 generates at least a portion of the motorcycle safety data 123 and transmits it to the main unit of the motorcycle safety alert device 106 for processing. In that example, the main unit need not return that subset of the motorcycle safety data 123 to the client device 112.

[0033] The motorcycle safety alert device 106 can transmit motorcycle safety data 123 to the server computing environment 103 continuously, periodically, on a schedule, on demand, or upon network connection identification. In some examples, the motorcycle safety alert device 106 can transmit motorcycle safety data 123 to the server computing environment 103 using a network connection provided by the client device 112, using the client device 112 as a relay for the information. To this end, the client device 112 can execute a motorcycle safety agent application that authenticates communications with the motorcycle safety alert device 106 and the server computing environment 103.

[0034] The motorcycle safety data service 117 can aggregate motorcycle safety data 123 for one or more device identifiers, for example, according to enterprise identifier, user group, organizational group, or another logical grouping of device identifiers. The motorcycle safety data service 117 can provide a console user interface that indicates statistical information for a set of devices. The statistics can indicate an average, mean, mode, or other metric indicating a frequency of alerts over the set of devices. The statistics can also indicate an average, mean, mode, or other metric indicating a frequency of a particular alert type or alert severity over the set of devices. Outliers such as device identifiers (or users) with a statistically high and / or statistically low number of alerts can be identified in the user interface. Any of the motorcycle safety data 123 for a particular motorcycle safety alert device 106 canalso be viewed and / or updated through the console user interface. In some cases, a predetermined setting or range of settings can be enforced using the console user interface, such that one or more of the motorcycle safety alert devices 106 are limited to one or more of settings that are enabled or permitted (such as a particular sensitivity or range of sensitivities, a particular brightness or a range of brightness, a particular volume or a range of volumes, whether a client device 112 is to be used, and so on).

[0035] FIG. 2 illustrates further aspects of a networked environment 100 for motorcycle collision alerting. This figure indicates a number of software layers in the overall networked environment 100 or system for motorcycle collision alerting. The networked environment 100 can include a user interface layer 203, a server layer 206, a client device software layer 209, and a device firmware layer 212.

[0036] The user interface layer 203 can include the console user interface provided by the motorcycle safety data service 117 and other aspects of the server layer 206. The motorcycle safety data service 117 aspects of the user interface layer 203 can be accessed using a client device 112, for example, through a browser application or a dedicated motorcycle safety application. These server-originated aspects of the user interface layer 203 can include viewing motorcycle safety data 123 and updating device configuration data 126 from the server computing environment 103.

[0037] The user interface layer 203 can additionally include user interface elements generated using the device software layer 209 (and the device firmware layer 212) and accessed using a client device 112, for example, through a browser application or a dedicated motorcycle safety application. These device-originated aspects of the user interface layer 203 can include using the client device 112 as a network relay. The device-originated aspects of the user interface layer 203 can include using the client device 112 as a visual and / or audible alert device. The device-originated aspects of the user interface layer 203 can include viewing motorcycle safety data 123 and updating device configuration data 126 directly from the motorcycle safety alert device 106.

[0038] The client device software layer 209 can include software (and / or firmware in various embodiments) executed using the client device 112. The device software layer 209 can include sensor interface software, Bluetooth (and / or other wireless) software, server communications software, and data collection and storage software.

[0039] The main unit device layer 212 can include firmware (and / or software in various embodiments) executed using the main unit of the motorcycle safety alert device 106. The device firmware layer 212 can include a scheduler, Bluetooth (and / or other wireless) software, sensor interfaces, an HMI interface for the HMI unit, data collection and storage firmware forcontrolling the data storage hardware, and warning algorithms for generating and triggering alerts or warnings.

[0040] FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a motorcycle safety alert device 106 in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure. The motorcycle safety alert device 106 can include components including a main unit 303, a forward distance sensor 309, and an HMI unit 306. These can be considered major or primary components of the motorcycle safety alert device 106 or system. In some examples, the motorcycle safety alert device 106 can also include an optional expansion unit 312 that includes additional sensors and storage. In some examples, the overall motorcycle safety system can include a client device 112, and the motorcycle safety alert device 106 can communicate with the client device 112 in a bidirectional manner using a wired or wireless network connection.

[0041] In some cases, two or more of the primary components of the motorcycle safety alert device 106 can be integrated into a single unit. However, in other examples, the various units can include separate computing devices and / or enclosures that work in concert to provide motorcycle safety features. The various individual components can also include physical wired connections and / or wireless connections. In wired embodiments of the motorcycle safety alert device 106, the wired components that are connected to the main unit can utilize the compute and power of the main unit over the wired connection. However, in both wired and wireless embodiments of the motorcycle safety alert device 106, the components can also include separate computing devices and power supplies.

[0042] The main unit 303 of the motorcycle safety alert device 106 can include a power supply management component, a battery or power supply (e.g., battery backup) component, an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) component, one or more digital to analog converters (DACs), one or more amplifiers, one or more computing devices, a Bluetooth® (and / or WiFi and other wireless communication devices), and one or more data storage devices. The main unit 303 can be considered a main motorcycle safety alerting unit that identifies alerting conditions and initiates an alert.

[0043] The main unit 303 of the motorcycle safety alert device 106 can send and receive information to and from the other components, as well as to and from a client device 112 and the server environment 103. In some examples, the main unit of the motorcycle safety alert device 106 can lack a connection to a wide area network, and can relay the motorcycle safety data 123 to the server environment 103 using a wired or wireless connection to the client device 112, and the client device 112 can forward the data to the server environment 103.

[0044] The HMI unit 306 can provide items for human input / control as well as visual and audible outputs for human interfacing. For example, the HMI unit 306 can input devicessuch as a sensitivity adjustment knob and potentially other buttons and switches. However, other examples can include outputs such as a speaker for audible alerts and a display for visual alerts. The display can include a set of one or more individual LEDs with a single color or multiple colors. The display can also be a screen or monitor on other examples. Some examples can include a touch screen.

[0045] The forward distance sensor 309 of the motorcycle safety alert device 106 can include a Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) sensor, a Radio Detection and Ranging (RADAR) sensor, an image sensor (camera sensor), an infrared sensor, or a laser sensor, among others. In some examples, motorcycle safety alert device 106 utilizes a single forward distance sensor 309. However, in some examples such as where the expansion device is used, one or more camera image sensors can be used with one of the other distance sensors such as a LiDAR sensor. The forward distance sensor 309 can be affixed to a forward portion of a motorcycle, for example at or in front of the handlebar area, on a front wheel fender, front portion of a body fairing, a front crash guard bar, a fork guard, or another forward portion of the motorcycle.

[0046] The optional expansion unit 312 the motorcycle safety alert device 106 can include additional sensors and storage. For example, the optional expansion unit 312 can include a GPS device, one or more camera devices, an Internet-of-Things (loT) sensor and / or communications device (and protocol) for loT connections such as ZigBee™ and other LPWA (Low-power wide-area networks), a cellular modem, and other sensors. These additional sensors can provide additional information that a motorcycle safety alert service, program, or application of the main unit 303 can use to trigger alerts and / or affect sensitivity levels according to the software configuration. This can provide additional data that can confirm and / or modify the I MU sensor data, the forward distance sensor 309 data, and other information used to trigger an alert. In some examples, the optional expansion unit 312 can provide a connection to a controller area network (CAN) bus or other sensor and motorcycle data interface of the motorcycle itself. This can directly access speedometer data, braking data, lean sensor data, and other information that the main unit 303 can use to trigger alerts according to the software configuration.

[0047] The client device 112 can include sensors, storage devices, a graphical user interface, and a speaker. For example, client device 112 can include a GPS device, IMU devices such as accelerator and gyrometer, a magnetometer, a barometer, a temperature sensor, a pressure sensor, an orientation sensor, environmental sensors, one or more camera devices, and other sensors. These additional sensors can provide additional information that a motorcycle safety alert service, program, or application of the main unit 303 can use to trigger alerts and / or affect sensitivity levels according to the software configuration. This canprovide additional data that can confirm and / or modify the I MU sensor data, the forward distance sensor 309 data, and other information used to trigger an alert. The client device 112 can also include a wireless network connection to a Wide Area Network, for example, using WiFi and / or wireless mobile or cellular networking (e.g., 1G, 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G, etc.) protocols. This can enable the motorcycle safety alert device 106 to relay data to the server layer using the client device 106. The motorcycle safety alert device 106 can receive, from the client device 112, sensor data, traffic data, roadway information, crime data, and even weather data that the motorcycle safety alert device 106 uses to trigger warnings and / or affect sensitivity levels.

[0048] While the motorcycle safety alert device 106 can be a separate peripheral system that is not integrated into the stock motorcycle electronics and body, in some examples the forward distance sensor 309 and the camera devices can be integrated into a body of the motorcycle in a manufacturing process of the manufacturer, rather than attached to an external surface as a peripheral device.

[0049] FIG. 4 shows a flowchart providing an example of the operation of software instructions the motorcycle safety alert device 106, particularly the main unit 303. As an alternative, the flowchart of FIG. 5 can be viewed as depicting an example of elements of a method implemented by the motorcycle safety alert device 106 within the networked environment 100. While blocks are generally described as performed using the threat modeling service 103, this can include instructions executed by the motorcycle safety alert device 106, this can generally refer to the main unit 303. However, aspects of the actions can be performed by other components of the networked environment 100. Also, other implementations can perform these actions using other components of the motorcycle safety alert device 106.

[0050] In block 403, the motorcycle safety alert device 106 can identify motorcycle safety device configuration data 126. The device configuration data 126 can specify a configuration of a particular motorcycle safety alert device 106. This can include a software configuration that provides sensitivity settings that affect the sensitivity of the device to trigger and generate an alert to be implemented using the HMI unit 306.

[0051] Multiple types or severities of alerts (for example, time-to-collision to forward objects from the motorcycle can trigger a set of escalating alerts from low to high where lesser time-to-collision indicate greater alerts). Greater alerts can include one or more of: higher brightness, more lights, flashing, and different colors relative to lesser alerts. The increased sensitivity values can cause the motorcycle safety alert device 106 to shift all of the alerts to greater time-to-collisions while decreased sensitivity values can shift all of the alerts to lesser time-to-collisions. The software configuration can include brightness settings for alerts, colorsettings for alerts, and volume levels for audible alerts. The software configuration can also indicate how (and whether) the client device 112 display is to be used when connected. For example, the client device 112 can provide distance information as well as visual and audible alerts in addition to or in lieu of the HMI unit 306.

[0052] The device configuration data 126 can also indicate a hardware configuration and a software configuration for the motorcycle safety alert device 106. The hardware configuration can include a model number, a set of components used for that motorcycle safety alert device 106, as well as whether it is configured to use a client device 112. The hardware configuration can indicate whether this is a single-forward-sensor implementation or a forward sensor plus camera sensor implementation.

[0053] The motorcycle safety alert device 106 can use the hardware configuration to affect the software configuration and identify which components are to be used, and instructions to retrieve or receive a particular set of sensor data from the various sensors of these components. The motorcycle safety alert device 106 can use the software configuration identify which components are to be used for human interface, and the type of output instructions and signals to provide to the HMI unit 306, the client device 112, and other components that can provide audible, visual, and haptic alerting.

[0054] In block 406, the motorcycle safety alert device 106 can monitor sensor data. The motorcycle safety alert device 106 can a particular set of sensor data from the various sensors of these components, based on the identified device configuration data 126. The motorcycle safety alert device 106 can retrieve and process this sensor data according to the device configuration data 126. This can include monitoring a forward distance sensor 309 to identify a distance and a rate of approach to an object ahead of the motorcycle. In some examples, this distance and rate of approach can identify an estimated time to collision or impact, and a threshold time to collision can trigger an alert according to the device configuration data 126. However, a threshold distance, rate of approach, lean angle, braking position, motorcycle speed, and other parameters can be identified, retrieved, and stored (temporarily in memory and / or durably in a data store).

[0055] In block 409, the motorcycle safety alert device 106 can process forward distance sensor data (and other sensor data) according to the device configuration data 126. For example, the motorcycle safety alert device 106 can compare the sensor data from the various sensors to one or more corresponding threshold values, which can be mapped to a trigger condition. The threshold values for a trigger condition can be specified in the device configuration data 126.

[0056] In block 412, the motorcycle safety alert device 106 can generate an alert according to the device configuration data 126. For example, the motorcycle safety alertdevice 106 can identify that the forward distance sensor data (and other sensor data) maps to a particular trigger condition. The motorcycle safety alert device 106 can also identify which audio, visual, and / or haptic alerts to generate according to the device configuration data 126. The motorcycle safety alert device 106 can then generate and transmit alert instructions and / or signals to the HMI unit 306, the client device 112, the expansion unit 312 or a subcomponent of the main unit 303 itself. This can cause a speaker to emit a particular tone or sound that indicates a particular level of alert, and a set of LEDs to show a predetermined pattern that indicates a particular level of alert (for example, a particular severity of alert). A haptic device can also vibrate or move in a particular manner indicating a particular level of alert. Information such as a distance to object, a flashing light, a sound, and other information can also be displayed using a display of the client device 112.

[0057] In block 415, the motorcycle safety alert device 106 can transmit motorcycle safety data 123 to the server layer 206, for example, to the server computing environment 103. Motorcycle safety data 123 can include device configuration data 126, alert data 129, and other data such as a unique device identifier and unique enterprise identifier for respective ones of the motorcycle safety alert device 106. The enterprise identifier can uniquely identify a company or other enterprise that employs or utilizes the various motorcycle safety alert devices 106 for motorcycles used for enterprise purposes. The device identifier can uniquely identify a motorcycle safety alert device 106 of the various devices. These identifiers can enable an enterprise user such as a manager or administrator to review individual devices 106 for alert events in the alert event data 129 for the subset of devices (according to their identifiers) that are associated with the enterprise identifier. User data that identifies a user and motorcycle data that identifies a type of motorcycle can be stored in association with each device identifier.

[0058] FIG. 5 shows an example of the operation of a motorcycle safety alert device 106. This example includes a five-tier alert system with five levels or severities of alert. The specific distances can be set to different values for one or more parameters including but not limited to those indicated (e.g., distance, time-to-collision, and so on), for examples, based on sensitivity settings in the software configuration. The distances can additionally or alternatively be used to identify a time to collision in view of speed information identified using one or more of the motorcycle itself, GPS data, IMU data, forward sensor data, or any combination thereof. The time to collision (TTC) thresholds can be used additionally or alternatively for various alert conditions.

[0059] The figure shows that if a forward vehicle is not detected, none of the LED’s are illuminated. When a vehicle is detected, the LEDs (e.g. section of the display) are illuminated in green in response. As the detected distance decreases, LEDs can illuminateyellow based on following distance, as long as the time-to-collision is high, to indicate a close following distance. At any distance, if the time-to-collision indicates a medium level threat, LEDs can illuminate red based on the TTC, and an attention getting audio will be played. At any distance, if the calculated time-to-collision indicates an imminent threat, all LED’s can flash red and a louder persistent audio alert can be played. The audio alert can change tone and / or volume or can stay the same. A cellular feature can also be added, such as a haptic buzz, audio alert, transmission of motorcycle safety data 123, a flashing the screen or other alert display updates for the client device 112. Visual display updates can be provided based on the hardware configuration data (e.g., if a client device 112 is indicated to be held by a device holder in front of the driver). The various sections of the LED light display or other HMI (and / or client device 112) display can be different colors, or can be the same color in various examples. The orientation or arrangement can also be different. For example, while this figure shows a left-to-right activation sequence from lower to higher severities, other implementations can activate right to left, up to down, down to up, outside to inside (e.g., two outer zones activate, then progressively move inward to a central zone for the highest severity), and so on. In various embodiments, one or more of the distance, time-to-collision, and other threshold values can be utilized individually and in combination (e.g., with logical operators such as AND / OR / NOR / XOR and so on).

[0060] A number of software components previously discussed are stored in the memory of the respective computing devices and are executable by the processor of the respective computing devices. In this respect, the term "executable" means a program file that is in a form that can ultimately be run by the processor. Examples of executable programs can be a compiled program that can be translated into machine code in a format that can be loaded into a random-access portion of the memory and run by the processor, source code that can be expressed in proper format such as object code that is capable of being loaded into a random-access portion of the memory and executed by the processor, or source code that can be interpreted by another executable program to generate instructions in a random-access portion of the memory to be executed by the processor. An executable program can be stored in any portion or component of the memory, including random-access memory (RAM), readonly memory (ROM), hard drive, solid-state drive, Universal Serial Bus (USB) flash drive, memory card, optical disc such as compact disc (CD) or digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk, magnetic tape, or other memory components.

[0061] The memory includes both volatile and nonvolatile memory and data storage components. Volatile components are those that do not retain data values upon loss of power. Nonvolatile components are those that retain data upon a loss of power. Thus, the memory can include random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), hard disk drives, solid- state drives, USB flash drives, memory cards accessed via a memory card reader, floppy disksaccessed via an associated floppy disk drive, optical discs accessed via an optical disc drive, magnetic tapes accessed via an appropriate tape drive, or other memory components, or a combination of any two or more of these memory components. In addition, the RAM can include static random-access memory (SRAM), dynamic random-access memory (DRAM), or magnetic random-access memory (MRAM) and other such devices. The ROM can include a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or other like memory device.

[0062] Although the applications and systems described herein can be embodied in software or code executed by general purpose hardware as discussed above, as an alternative the same can also be embodied in dedicated hardware or a combination of software / general purpose hardware and dedicated hardware. If embodied in dedicated hardware, each can be implemented as a circuit or state machine that employs any one of or a combination of a number of technologies. These technologies can include, but are not limited to, discrete logic circuits having logic gates for implementing various logic functions upon an application of one or more data signals, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) having appropriate logic gates, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or other components, etc. Such technologies are generally well known by those skilled in the art and, consequently, are not described in detail herein.

[0063] The flowchart shows the functionality and operation of an implementation of portions of the various embodiments of the present disclosure. If embodied in software, each block can represent a module, segment, or portion of code that includes program instructions to implement the specified logical function(s). The program instructions can be embodied in the form of source code that includes human-readable statements written in a programming language or machine code that includes numerical instructions recognizable by a suitable execution system such as a processor in a computer system. The machine code can be converted from the source code through various processes. For example, the machine code can be generated from the source code with a compiler prior to execution of the corresponding application. As another example, the machine code can be generated from the source code concurrently with execution with an interpreter. Other approaches can also be used. If embodied in hardware, each block can represent a circuit or a number of interconnected circuits to implement the specified logical function or functions.

[0064] Although the flowchart shows a specific order of execution, it is understood that the order of execution can differ from that which is depicted. For example, the order of execution of two or more blocks can be scrambled relative to the order shown. Also, two or more blocks shown in succession can be executed concurrently or with partial concurrence.Further, in some embodiments, one or more of the blocks shown in the flowchart can be skipped or omitted. In addition, any number of counters, state variables, warning semaphores, or messages might be added to the logical flow described herein, for purposes of enhanced utility, accounting, performance measurement, or providing troubleshooting aids, etc. It is understood that all such variations are within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0065] Also, any logic or application described herein that includes software or code can be embodied in any non-transitory computer-readable medium for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system such as a processor in a computer system or other system. In this sense, the logic can include statements including instructions and declarations that can be fetched from the computer-readable medium and executed by the instruction execution system. In the context of the present disclosure, a "computer-readable medium" can be any medium that can contain, store, or maintain the logic or application described herein for use by or in connection with the instruction execution system. Moreover, a collection of distributed computer-readable media located across a plurality of computing devices (e.g., storage area networks or distributed or clustered filesystems or databases) may also be collectively considered as a single non-transitory computer-readable medium.

[0066] The computer-readable medium can include any one of many physical media such as magnetic, optical, or semiconductor media. More specific examples of a suitable computer-readable medium would include, but are not limited to, magnetic tapes, magnetic floppy diskettes, magnetic hard drives, memory cards, solid-state drives, USB flash drives, or optical discs. Also, the computer-readable medium can be a random-access memory (RAM) including static random-access memory (SRAM) and dynamic random-access memory (DRAM), or magnetic random-access memory (MRAM). In addition, the computer-readable medium can be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or other type of memory device.

[0067] Further, any logic or application described herein can be implemented and structured in a variety of ways. For example, one or more applications described can be implemented as modules or components of a single application. Further, one or more applications described herein can be executed in shared or separate computing devices or a combination thereof. For example, a plurality of the applications described herein can execute in the same computing device, or in multiple computing devices in the same server computing environment 103.

[0068] Disjunctive language such as the phrase “at least one of X, Y, or Z,” unless specifically stated otherwise, is otherwise understood with the context as used in general to present that an item, term, etc., can be either X, Y, or Z, or any combination thereof (e.g., X;Y; Z; X or Y; X or Z; Y or Z; X, Y, or Z; etc.). Thus, such disjunctive language is not generally intended to, and should not, imply that certain embodiments require at least one of X, at least one of Y, or at least one of Z to each be present. The term "substantially" is meant to permit deviations from the descriptive term that don't negatively impact the intended purpose. Descriptive terms are implicitly understood to be modified by the word substantially, even if the term is not explicitly modified by the word substantially.

[0069] It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments of the present disclosure are merely possible examples of implementations set forth for a clear understanding of the principles of the disclosure. Many variations and modifications can be made to the above-described embodiments without departing substantially from the spirit and principles of the disclosure. All such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure and protected by the following claims.

[0070] Various embodiments of the present disclosure are described in the following clauses. Although the following clauses describe some embodiments of the present disclosure, other embodiments of the present disclosure are also set forth above. While aspects of the disclosure can be described with respect to a particular figure, the aspects described for a particular figure can be applied to and combined with other figures unless mutually exclusive features are explicitly described.

[0071] It should be noted that ratios, concentrations, amounts, and other numerical data may be expressed herein in a range format. It is to be understood that such a range format is used for convenience and brevity, and thus, should be interpreted in a flexible manner to include not only the numerical values explicitly recited as the limits of the range, but also to include all the individual numerical values or sub-ranges encompassed within that range as if each numerical value and sub-range is explicitly recited. To illustrate, a concentration range of “about 0.1% to about 5%” should be interpreted to include not only the explicitly recited concentration of about 0.1 % to about 5 %, but also include individual concentrations (e.g., 1%, 2%, 3%, and 4%) and the sub-ranges (e.g., 0.5%, 1.1%, 2.2%, 3.3%, and 4.4%) within the indicated range. The term “about” can include traditional rounding according to significant figures of numerical values. In addition, the phrase “about ‘x’ to ‘y’” includes “about ‘x’ to about ‘y’”.

Claims

CLAIMSTherefore, at least the following is claimed:

1. A system for motorcycle collision alerting, the system comprising: a forward distance sensor; a human machine interface unit comprising a visual interface component; and a main unit comprising at least one computing device including at least one processor and at least one memory comprising executable instructions, where the instructions, when executed using the at least one processor cause the at least one computing device to at least: identify device configuration data for the system for motorcycle collision alerting; receive sensor data for the forward distance sensor; process the sensor data for the forward distance sensor, according to the device configuration data to identify an alert condition specified in the device configuration data; and transmit a signal or a command that causes the human machine interface unit to generate an alert corresponding to the alert condition.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the forward distance sensor, the human machine interface unit, and the main unit are detachably attached to a motorcycle.

3. The system of any of claims 1 and 2, wherein the alert condition indicates a particular alert severity level corresponding to a particular type of the alert generated by the human machine interface unit.

4. The system of any of claims 1-3, wherein the instructions, when executed using the at least one processor cause the at least one computing device to at least: transmit, to a server computing environment, motorcycle safety data comprising: an indication of the alert condition, the sensor data, and an identifier, wherein the identifier corresponds to at least one of a user, a motorcycle, or any combination thereof.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the main unit transmits the motorcycle safety data to the server computing environment using a network connection provided using a client device that is in communication with the main unit.

6. The system of any of claims 1-5, further comprising: an expansion unit comprising a global positioning sensor (GPS) device that provides GPS sensor data, wherein the sensor data comprises forward distance sensor data and the GPS sensor data.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the expansion unit further comprises a camera.

8. The system of any of claims 1-7, wherein the main unit receives at least a portion of the sensor data from a client device that is in communication with the main unit.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the sensor data from the client device comprises GPS data, IMU data, or orientation data.

10. A method for motorcycle collision alerting, comprises: receiving, by a main unit of a motorcycle collision alerting system, sensor data from at least a forward distance sensor of a motorcycle; identifying, by processing circuitry of the main unit, an alert condition based upon the sensor data and device configuration data associated with the motorcycle collision alerting system, the alert condition specified in the device configuration data; and initiating, by the processing circuitry of the main unit, generation of an alert corresponding to the alert condition for a user of the motorcycle.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the processing circuitry initiates generation of the alert by transmitting a signal or a command.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the motorcycle collision alerting system comprises a human machine interface (HMI) unit configured to generate the alert in response to the signal or command.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the HMI unit comprises a visual interface component.

14. The method of any of claims 10-13, wherein the sensor data comprises forward distance sensor data and global positioning sensor (GPS) data.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the motorcycle collision alerting system comprises an expansion unit comprising a GPS device.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the expansion unit further comprises a camera.

17. The method of any of claims 10-16, wherein the main unit is communicatively coupled to a client device.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the client device is configured to generate the alert in response to the signal or command.

19. The method of any one of claims 10-18, comprising transmitting, to a server computing environment, motorcycle safety data comprising: an indication of the alert condition, the sensor data, and an identifier, wherein the identifier corresponds to at least one of the user, the motorcycle, or any combination thereof.

20. The method of any of claims 10-19, wherein the processing circuitry comprises at least one processor and at least one memory.

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