Software For Improving Rider Skill and Pleasure: Xinova Is Looking For Your Inventions

Xinova is looking for your inventions
REQUEST FOR INVENTION (RFI)
Software for Improving Rider Skill

and Pleasure
Key words: Motorcycle, powered two-wheeled vehicles (PTW), intelligent
transportation systems (ITW), intersection support (IS), advanced rider assistance
systems (ARAS), vehicle-infrastructure-rider (VIR), rider aids, rider skill, motorcycle
training, rider training.
Circulation Date: Request for Invention

May 1, 2017 RFI-170110
Software
Please read the instructions for Submission for more information on method, terms
and conditions of your submission of Solution Reports. For the most recent closing
date for all Requests for Invention please log in to your account at
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Xinova PROPRIETARY AND CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

REQUEST FOR INVENTION Software // RFI-170110
Software for Improving Rider Skill and Pleasure

SUMMARY
Xinova seeks the disclosure of software inventions that improve

motorcycle rider skill and pleasure by various methods including providing
the rider with feedback.
Motorcycle riding is significantly more difficult to learn than driving a car. However,
after training and gaining experience, skilled riders enjoy a superior riding
performance, while having a lower accident rate.
Riding a motorcycle is not an inherently dangerous activity, but it can be if the rider
lacks skill. Motorcycle accident rates could be dramatically reduced if riding ability
were improved; this in turn could lead to increased motorcycle sales and a more
positive image amongst the general public.
Vision and motorcycle manipulation are critical riding skills. Improving
motorcyclists’ vision of their environment will lead to an increased ability to gauge
important road features, such as curves and hazards, particularly in intersections.
Improving motorcyclists’ ability to manipulate their motorcycles in response to road
features and hazards will increase their riding pleasure while also dramatically
reduce crashes.
Desired invention characteristics and some suggested areas of exploration

are described on page 17.
Xinova PROPRIETARY AND CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION 2


Problem Definition
Motorcycle riding is significantly more difficult to learn than driving a car, for
multiple reasons. For example, starting the motorcycle is an acquired skill due to
its weight and balance requirements, balancing the motorcycle in some instances
may be counterintuitive, teaching riding skills (especially advanced skills) is more
difficult because the instructor cannot be a passive passenger on the motorcycle
like a driving instructor can be, etc. Skilled riders enjoy a superior riding
performance, while having a lower rate of accidents.
Riding a motorcycle is not an inherently dangerous activity, but it can be if the rider
lacks skill. Statistics from government safety agencies in numerous countries have
demonstrated that untrained and inexperienced riders, young riders who lack
judgement, and older riders whose skills may be declining have significantly higher
accident rates than those riders with more training and experience.
While motorcycle training classes and simulators are available, they are vastly
underutilized. Video analysis of riding is highly advantageous but not always
practical. New software that analyzes rider behavior and uses visual, auditory, or
haptic cues to immediately improve rider behavior in real time, during the ride, are
necessary in order to improve rider skill.
Why This Problem Is Valuable to Solve
Many people ride motorcycles for pleasure, and the pleasure of riding is
commensurate with the rider’s skill. Therefore, by accelerating the improvement
rate in rider skills, we ensure a more pleasurable ride and increase the market for
motorcycle buyers. Additionally, more skilled riders using motorcycles with
advanced systems can continue riding for a longer time at more advanced ages.
There are also other benefits to quickly improving ride skills.
Accidents present a negative image of motorcycling being dangerous to non-
motorcyclists thereby reducing market demand. For example, despite providing
less than 1% of miles driven, they made up 15% of traffic deaths in the United
states.
There are environmental concerns, too. The gas mileage of a typical low- to mid-
priced passenger car can range from around 24 to 36 miles per gallon (MPG) or 9.8
L to 6.5 L per 100 km. Weights can range from 1.25 to 1.6 tons, or 1.13 to 1.45
metric tons. However, a mid-sized motorcycle – about 500 cc – can obtain double
the gas mileage of around 70 MPG or 3.5 L per 100 km while weighing only 15% as
much at around 0.2 tons (0.18 metric tons). Electric motorcycles will improve these
figures. This represents a significant savings in resources such as fuel, steel,
aluminum, and plastic while reducing pollution.

Background
Motorcycling Environment
A motorcyclist’s environment can be divided into three broad areas: motorcyclist,
motorcycle, and external factors. Motorcyclists vary with respect to their training,
experience, attitude, and safety gear. Perhaps the most important distinction
between motorcycles is engine size. Motorcycles also vary in weight, stopping
ability, and maneuverability. External factors include road and weather conditions
and particularly drivers of cars or other large vehicles.
The interaction between these areas in the motorcycling environment must be
contemplated when attempting to use software to increase rider skill.
Accidents
In the US, fatal accidents often involve the motorcycle running off the road (41% of
fatalities) indicating that a lack of skill is a significant cause of sever accidents. In
continental Europe, Motorcyclists only comprise of 1% of overall road traffic, yet
account for around 20% of the fatalities and serious injuries on the road.
Incidents usually happen at junctions. An independent European study determined
that the majority of all motorcycling accidents in the EU involved another four-
wheeled vehicle, and 55% of those happened at junctions.
Improving Rider Skill – Naturalistic Studies
Studying accidents after they occur is one method to improve rider skill. However,
a better way to improve motorcycle rider skill is through sensors that monitor and
record motorcyclists’ behavior as they ride. This is called a naturalistic study: a
technique that involves the observation of subjects in their natural environment.
The Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) sponsored the first large-scale naturalistic
motorcycle study (MSF 100 Motorcyclists Naturalistic Study), which was conducted
by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI). Video and kinematic data
were collected from 100 riders during their ordinary routine over a period of 2
months to 2 years per rider.
Most crashes were described as “Ground impact – low speed,” where the rider lacks
low-speed maneuvering skills thus allowing the bike to lean while it is being
stopped, just beginning to move from a stop, or making a turn at low speed.
Vehicle upright stability is lost due to lack of input by the rider to counteract the
effect of gravity. Inability to navigate curves and vehicles turning across the
motorcyclist’s path were two other major factors in crashing. Other notable areas
that riders need to improve upon are matching speed with the environment and
their skills, and simply paying more attention to their surroundings.
Intersections


Drivers are, of course, looking for traffic at intersections, but often fail to see
motorcyclists because of the drivers’ expectations – fixated on looking for cars and
other large vehicles – and the small size of the motorcycle. The “looked-but-failed-
to-see” error is often caused not only by drivers’ inattentiveness, but also rider
speed. This causes drivers to overestimate the time gap until the motorcycle
reaches the intersection, owing to difficulties in judging the approach speed of
motorcycles.
Therefore, reducing the approach speed of powered two-wheelers has been
suggested as a promising countermeasure against collisions at intersections.
Furthermore, lower speed provides the rider with more time to react to hazards.
Hazard monitoring is a primary riding task, requiring the rider’s awareness of the
road situation and an appropriate adaptation of the riding behavior.
Corners
In addition to lacking the skill necessary to properly turn a motorcycle, riders also
face difficulty in negotiating hazards on corners. While most riders move from the
outside of a curve towards the inside (indicative of a racing line), advanced riders
chose a shallower racing line, which places them closer to the outside of the curve
when a hazard is encountered.
Linear and Angular Motions
New solutions for improving rider skill will need to describe and monitor the
movement of a motorcycle, which has two basic motions, namely linear and
angular.
The angular movements can be completely described by considering the motions
about three separate axes at right angles to one another, known as roll, pitch, and
yaw. Yaw is the angular motion about a vertical axis. The pitch axis is horizontal
and passes sideways through the bike. The roll axis is also horizontal and is
oriented fore and aft. In order for riders to improve their skills, they must properly
move about these axes. Figure 1 illustrates these axes.
Figure 1: Three motorcycle axes


Source: Motorcycle Handling and Chassis Design (Tony Foale)
Motorcycle Systems
New software will need to monitor a number of motorcycle systems and controls in
order to detect and improve rider skill. The basic systems are as follows:
 Engine – Controlled by the throttle.
 Brakes (front and rear) – Controlled by the braking lever (front) and
breaking pedal.
 Clutch – Controlled by the clutch lever.
 Transmission – Controlled by the gear-shift pedal.
 Suspension – Controlled either manually or automatically.
 Front wheel – Controlled by the handle bars.
 Rider positioning – Rider position can still be a factor even though human’s
biomechanical motions play a smaller role in motorcycle manipulation than a
bicycle because a motorcycle typically weighs as much as or more than a
rider.
More advanced systems include the following:
 Inertial measurement unit (IMU) – An IMU is an electronic device that
measures and reports a body's specific force and angular rate using a
combination of accelerometers and gyroscopes. The newest motorcycles
have 6-axis IMUs, with three gyroscopes and three accelerometers – a pair
for each axis. Such an IMU can make up to 125 calculations per second,
depending on the type; common manufacturers include Bosch, Fair Chicle
Semi, Kionix, and InvenSense.
 Engine control unit (ECU) – An ECU is a type of electronic control unit that
controls a series of actuators on an internal combustion engine to ensure
optimal engine performance. It accomplishes this by reading values from a
multitude of sensors within the engine bay, interpreting the data using multi-
dimensional performance maps, and adjusting the engine actuators
accordingly.
Other control methods include:
 Rear tire slip/slide – When in a corner, skilled riders can purposely
manipulate tire slide.
 Frame flexibility – Frames range from flexible to stiff.
These systems combine to control the linear and angular motions of the motorcycle.
Current Technology and Prior Solution Attempts
Rider Aids


A rider aid is an electronically controlled parameter that increases rider safety. The
two most fundamental ones are anti-lock braking systems (ABS) and traction
control. Fundamentally, braking control and traction control are similar
mathematical problems; in both cases, excess tire thrust force exceeds the tire
adhesion limit and results in a wheel-speed change.
Riders, reasonably, tend to view accelerating and braking as two completely
dissimilar events, but this is not consistent with Newton’s Laws of Motion, which
rather teach that a change in velocity is a change in velocity. A sensor adequate to
detect a decrease in speed is also suited to detect an increase in speed.
ABS
The earliest introduced electronic rider aid was ABS, an automated system that
prevents wheels from locking up in order to avoid uncontrolled skidding. This
dramatically increased rider braking skill in emergency and wet conditions.
New systems use the IMU to detect whether the bike is leaned over and to what
degree, then further adjust rider input based on those factors. This dramatically
decreases the chances of a front wheel losing traction if the rider makes the
mistake of braking too hard while cornering.
Traction Control
Traction control was developed in an attempt to curtail motorcycles from exceeding
their available traction. Traction Control increases rider skill by managing the
unprecedentedly huge horsepower numbers and providing added safety in poor
conditions. It also increases rider confidence thereby increasing their pleasure in
riding a motorcycle.
Motorcycles have just a few square inches of contact to the road surface via their
tires (i.e. a contact patch). Road surfaces can be wet, dry, sandy, hot, cold, freshly
paved, cracked, uneven, slippery, or covered in leaves, fluids, or foreign materials,
all of which can alter the amount of traction tires can utilize. Furthermore, tires can
be old or new (and can have traces of slippery mold release agents), improperly
inflated, or have uneven wear. When the motorcycle is leaned, the contact patch is
even smaller. This makes traction control even more important.
Figure 2 illustrates the contact patch.

Figure 2: Tire contact patch

Source: Dunlop
Traction control helps to mitigate loss of traction from all of these factors, as well as
to avoid excessive application of throttle or other input errors on the part of the
rider. No matter what the circumstances, the common denominator among all of
these factors is a difference between rear wheel speed and front wheel speed.
Wheel speed can be determined by the ABS sensors, which are already monitoring
the wheels. The sensors measure the difference between the rear and front wheels.
When the rear wheel is unable to maintain traction through its contact patch, it
slides, and the rotation of the rear wheel no longer matches the rotation of the
front wheel. The sensors relate this information to the bike’s ECU. Some
motorcycles incorporate lean angle into the ECU calculation for traction
If a rider opens the throttle too far, making a torque request that overwhelms the
ability of this contact patch to transmit force, the contact patch of the tire will begin
to slide relative to the pavement. When the tire’s contact patch is moving at
roughly 115% of the speed of the bike, the slip-vs-force curve of the typical tire
reaches its peak and turns negative; any higher slip results in less force. Less force
to propel the motorcycle is okay, but less force to react to the side load induced by
cornering is definitely not okay.
As the tire fails to push back against the cornering load, the motorcycle begins to
rotate on its yaw axis. There are three ways the rider can counter this. The rider
can request the same amount of torque, and the motorcycle will continue its
rotation, terminating in a low-side crash. Alternatively, the rider can abruptly chop


the throttle, and, as the contact patch force returns, the yaw rotation will convert to
an abrupt roll rotation to result in a high-side crash. Lastly, the rider can modulate
a delicate and nuanced intermediate throttle position which allows the tire to climb
gradually and controllably back to the slip peak.
Since the ECU controls fueling and engine speed, it already knows the amount of
power the bike is delivering to the rear wheel. In some cases, it also registers
throttle position, gear position and even lean angle. With the combination of wheel
speed sensor data and engine speed data, the ECU can make a determination on
available traction and can trigger one or more responses (which varies between
motorcycle manufacturers). At least one of three things will happen as the ECU
attempts to prevent rear wheel slip: 1) the ignition timing can be slowed; 2) fuel
injection can be skipped on a single cylinder, thereby intentionally creating a
misfire, or 3) the throttle can be electronically adjusted (assuming the bike is fitted
with an electronic throttle). All of these events culminate in the same result,
wherein engine output is modulated carefully so that traction is regained with
smoothness and a maximum amount of efficiency. This noticeably increases rider
skill and pleasure because besides the motorcycle remaining upright, it is also
operating smoothly.
Engine
Throttles are often electronically connected to engines using a ride-by-wire (RBW)
system as opposed to a cable. In the most basic sense, a RBW system inserts a
computer between the rider’s right wrist and the throttle plates. As the rider twists
the throttle, the ECU considers engine speed, vehicle speed, gear selection, and
other factors. It then decides how much to open the throttle plates (in the form of
a butterfly valve that regulates airflow into the engine), based on a few
assumptions of the amount of power wanted by the rider. There is no longer a one-
to-one relationship between the rider’s right hand and the throttle plates, as the
computer knows better and acts to keep power flowing smoothly. This increases
rider skill by preventing an excess application of power at an inopportune time.
RBW, in combination with the ECU, allows for different “power modes” for the
engine. Newer engines can modify two parameters, namely power output and
power delivery. For example, the most extreme power mode and delivery settings
can rapidly deliver 100% of engine power output to the rear wheel, often called
“sport mode.” However, moderate power settings, called “rain mode” or “urban
mode”, reduce power output and deliver that power in a more controlled fashion.
Rider pleasure is increased by not having to worry about excess power delivery in
inappropriate environments.
Suspension
Electronic suspension currently comes in two varieties. There’s the basic
electronically adjustable suspension with presets for spring preload and damping
settings, and then there are semi-active, self-adjusting systems that automatically
tune damping to better suit the road surface and riding maneuvers. Semi-active
suspension takes electronic control of the fork and shock a step further by
automatically altering damping (and sometimes spring preload, to set sag) to suit
the given riding scenario.


The rider still selects the basic damping scheme and often spring preload as well,
and then the bike’s brain fine-tunes compression and rebound damping as you ride,
based on information gathered from a variety of sensors. Semi-active systems use
fast-moving solenoids to quickly alter oil flow through the dampers. Apply the
brakes and the system increases compression damping in the fork to reduce dive;
twist the throttle and it firms up the shock to reduce squat. Hit a bump and the ECU
pulls out compression damping to allow the wheels to move up more easily. These
systems are substantially more comfortable than non-electronically-controlled
system, and help mitigate low-back pain.
Wheelie Control
A wheelie is a vehicle rotation about the pitch axis and it would be logical for a
wheelie detection algorithm to rely on data from a pitch gyro. But surprisingly, none
of the manufacturers include a pitch gyro in their sensor package. Instead, they
detect a wheelie by comparing the two wheel-speeds. If the front wheel is slowing
while the rear wheel is accelerating, the computer infers that the front wheel has
lost contact with the ground and it commands a torque reduction. This increases
rider confidence knowing that they will not fall off the back of the motorcycle if
excess throttle is applied.
Integration
Bosch – a major supplier of motorcycle systems – has developed and integrated
Motorcycle Stability Control system seen on flagship models such as KTM’s Super
Adventure and Super Duke GT. The all-in-one system combines lean-angle
dependent brake control with electronically linked brakes to provide optimum
stopping performance in any scenario. The system also incorporates lean-angle-
dependent traction control that includes algorithms for mitigating front- and rear-
wheel lift.
Developmental Technologies
Naturalistic Research
With the advent of miniaturized sensors and cameras, along with high-capacity
memory devices and cell-phones, motorcycles can be equipped to perform what is
called naturalistic research. Participants in this research ride for approximately one
year, doing whatever it is they normally do, with sensors and cameras on their
motorcycle, thereby allowing researchers to gain real-world information. Virginia
Tech is a pioneer in this field.
Motorcycle-Rider Communication Systems – Prototype Interfaces
There are a variety of ways to deliver alerts to humans. For a motorcycle, the
primary methods are auditory, visual and haptic. VirginiaTech has developed
prototype systems based on these methods. They include helmet speakers, visor or
mirror LEDs, haptic wristbands and gloves, and a force feedback throttle. Eye-
movement tracking using an Eyelink II head-mounted eye tracking system have
been used in research.


Another method gaining traction in other fields, including automobiles, is
augmented reality (AR), a technology that superimposes a computer-generated
image on a user's view of the real world, thus providing a composite view. AR
technology on windscreens or helmet visors could dramatically improve rider
awareness of hazards.
Intelligent Transport System
BMW, Honda, and Yamaha announced in 2015 their intention to form a Connected
Motorcycle Consortium to further the development of Cooperative-Intelligent
Transport Systems (C-ITS) applications in motorized two-wheelers. The companies
have said the new consortium will accelerate development of connected
motorcycles and scooters, whose technology development and inclusion in the
greater mobility picture have lagged behind the connected-car movement. A
motorcycle with integrated artificial intelligence capable of communicating with
other vehicles and infrastructure could increase rider awareness.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) Motorcycles
Kawasaki is developing AI motorcycles. The motorcycles being developed will use
the Emotion Generation Engine and Natural Language Dialogue System. The
concept of this system would involve the rider being able to talk with the AI-
controlled system. The idea is that the bike will have a 'personality' which will grow
as it learns more about you and your riding style. Using Information and
Communications Technology, the system called the 'Emotion Engine' will have the
ability to read emotions and instructions from the rider's voice using an 'Emotion
Generation and Natural Language Dialogue System'.
Hazard Detection
Sensors for hazard detection have been extensively used in semi- and fully-
autonomous cars. Active sensors include lidar, radar, ultrasonic, and radio, while
the commonly-used passive sensors are infrared and visual cameras. Dynamic
environment modeling based on moving on-vehicle cameras plays an important role
in intelligent vehicles. These systems could substantially increase the hazard
detection skills of riders, especially at intersections.
Technologies from Other Fields
Haptic radar is a prototype configured as a head-band, which provides the wearer
with 360 degrees of spatial awareness. Each module contains an infrared proximity
sensor (SHARP GP2D12) with a maximum range of 80 cm (giving the user a
relatively short sphere of awareness - everything at arm range). Vibro-tactile
stimulation is achieved using vibration motors (Chongqing Linglong Electronic
Mobile Phone Vibrator Motor C1226-56L28). Objects that are closer to the range-
finder produce more intense vibrations.
This could easily be expanded into other types of haptic gear such as haptic vests,
jackets, pants, boots as well as gloves, which exist experimentally.
Infrastructure for Intersection Support System
The European Union’s INTERSAFE and its follower INTERSAFE-2 aim to demonstrate
an intersection safety system based on a cooperative data fusion between onboard


and infrastructure sensors (such as advanced digital maps, lasers, and cameras),
supplied over a communication link from vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-
infrastructure (V2I) communications (both summarized by V2X). In Japan,
Advanced Safety Vehicle (ASV) technology Phase 3 and Phase 4 are extending in-
vehicle assistance systems with V2V and V2I communication systems by taking
advantage of technology available within the universal traffic management system.
This system includes the driving safety support systems (DSSS).
The DSSS detects cars, motorcycles, and pedestrians that are not in the driver’s
line of sight with various sensors and assists drivers by alerting them via message
display boards or in-vehicle units.
In addition, the US Intersection Decision Support (IDS) project and the cooperative
intersection collision avoidance system are infrastructure-centered implementations
of intersection assistance functions that convey message alerts to drivers through
infrastructure-mounted interfaces or through onboard warning devices. All these
projects propose intersection assistance functions designed from the point of view
of a car, except the ASV-3 project.
However, another project, called SAFERIDER, devised an intersection support (IS)
application based on a small set of onboard sensors (such as digital maps, inertial
measurement unit (IMU), the Global Positioning System, and a laser scanner).
The application combines a module to map the intersection situation to a target
scenario followed by a threat assessment module that evaluates the risk level of the
categorized scenario. The novelty of the IS application of SAFERIDER is the threat
assessment approach, which is based on the receding horizon method extended to
PTW. It essentially consists of the repeated solution of an optimal control problem
that naturally accommodates road geometry and attribute constraints and rider–
motorcycle dynamics in a formalized and consistent way. Figure 3 illustrates the
intersection support software modules.
Figure 3: Intersection support software modules

Source: IEEE Transaction on Intelligent Transportation Systems, 13(2), 2012
The risk taken by a rider is evaluated with a measure of the error between an ideal
safe maneuver (i.e., reference maneuver) for the scenario identified and the
maneuver actually performed by the rider. This is achieved by calculating the
amount of rider’s input needed to correct the longitudinal dynamics of the actual


maneuver to follow the ideal one. The use of this metric has some advantages: it is
independent from the target intersection scenarios and is consistent with what the
rider has to do to improve their skill in the situation.
Cornering – Rider Skill Analysis
Some work has been done on rider skill analysis on corners. Vehicle safety systems
including advanced rider assistant systems (ARAS) (e.g., IMU with accelerometers
and gyroscopes) assist the rider during daily riding before or after detected critical
events by smart interventions (e.g. at tire friction limits). Unfortunately, such
systems are not designed to interact with the rider, nor to help improve riding
skills.
Combining the information from modern ARAS with rider safety trainings in an
online system could provide motorcycle riders with useful feedback about their
individual skills, thereby supporting self-improvement. The key requirement for
such an application is a method to estimate a specific rider’s skill via a reliable,
personalized model which can then be used to detect certain behaviors as indicators
for riding errors.
In general, the driver skill models proposed in the literature consist of two steps:
1) Extract pre-defined physical attributes and features directly linked with the
driver’s abilities and skills.
2) Estimate the driver’s skill, either as an output of classification algorithms
trained on groups of drivers with driving skills assumed to be known, or from
predefined feature mapping.
Riding skill can be defined as the ability or competence to perform complex riding
tasks reproducibly, consistently, and without riding errors. With respect to
measuring riding skills on corners, many factors must be defined.
First, the corner type is defined (Figure 4).
Figure 4: Road parameter for cornering scenarios

Source: “Rider Skill Identification by Probabilistic Segmentation into Motorcycle Maneuver Primitives,”
N. Magiera, H. Janssen, M. Heckmann, H. Winner, 2016 IEEE 19th International Conference on
Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITSC)
Next, the type of maneuver is defined (Figure 5).

Figure 5: Types of maneuvers

Source: “Rider Skill Identification by Probabilistic Segmentation into Motorcycle Maneuver Primitives”,
N. Magiera, H. Janssen, M. Heckmann, H. Winner, 2016 IEEE 19th International Conference on
Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITSC)
Hidden Markov models with Gaussian mixture models (GMM-HMM) were used to
analyze the data. A hidden Markov model (HMM) is a probabilistic model for a
process with unobserved hidden states wherein it is assumed that each hidden
state only depends on its predecessor. Therefore, an HMM is capable of capturing
the sequential properties of a process through transition probabilities between
consecutive states. While the HMM structure describes the sequence and ordering
of states, Gaussian mixture models are used to describe the HMM output emission.
In addition to HMM and GMM, other machine learning techniques have been used
for rider skill analysis, including k-nearest neighbors (k-NN), support vector
machines (SVMs), and random forests (RFs) in both (discrete and continuous)
cases. The HMMs are widely applied for studying time series data. The data
preprocessing consists of filtering, normalizing, and manual labeling in order to
create the training and testing sets.
Another paper has developed a computing methodology for the analysis of rider
skills represented in Figure 6.
The motorcycle used in the experiments was a HONDA CBF-1000, as shown in
Figure 7. This roadster is equipped with ABS (anti-lock braking system), 3D IMU
(accelerometers/ gyroscopes), steering angle encoder, brake contact, relative
optical encoder, and embedded data-logger technologies. The system acquired and
recorded data on rider actions and on the dynamics of the PTW at 1 KHz. The
equipment is pictured below in Figure 11.

Figure 6: Computing methodology for analysis of rider skills

Source: Proceedings of the 16th International IEEE Annual Conference on
Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITSC 2013), The Hague, The
Netherlands, October 6-9, 2013, “Riding patterns recognition for Powered two-wheelers users'
behaviors analysis,” Ferhat Attal, Abderrahmane Boubezoul, Latifa Oukhellou and Stephane Espie.
Figure 7: Experimental Honda CBF-1000

Source: Proceedings of the 16th International IEEE Annual Conference on
Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITSC 2013), The Hague, The Netherlands, October 6-9, 2013,
“Riding patterns recognition for Powered two-wheelers users' behaviors analysis,” Ferhat Attal,
Abderrahmane Boubezoul, Latifa Oukhellou and Stephane Espie.
Due to the noisy nature of the accelerometer and gyroscope data, a filtering of the
data was conducted. The Wavelet Filter (WF» with 1Hz cut off frequency,
implemented on a MATLAB® environment) was used because it gave the highest
signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). The data were labeled using supervised learning.


It is important to understand that even such a well-equipped motorcycle lacks some
important data gathering ability. The dynamic behavior of the motorcycle-rider
system is very complex. The collected data on instrumented PTW are linked not
only to the vehicle and its dynamics but also to the interactions between the riders,
the vehicle, and the infrastructure. For example, when making a turn, some riders
use their weight in order to lean the motorcycle, which induces differences in terms
of vehicle dynamics. It’s also worth noting that the interactions between car
drivers and the infrastructure are different from those of the PTW riders and the
infrastructure.
Roll-Angle Estimation
The angle a motorcycle makes with respect to the ground during cornering is
another important factor that needs to be measured in order to improve rider skill.
The literature contains IMU-based methods, including one relying only on video
images from a front-mounted camera.
Typical road scenes feature recurring geometries and compositions of objects. By
recording those scenes, characteristic orientation distributions can be found and
learned from image gradients that code the roll angle of the motorcycle. By
correlating the statistics (orientation histogram) of a single image with the learned
counterpart, the displacement can be derived.
Eye Movement
The analysis of eye movement is an important factor in measuring a rider’s skill and
has been used on motorcycle simulators. Various measurements can be taken,
including saccadic amplitude (visual degrees), saccadic peak velocity (visual
degrees/s), number of fixations, and fixation duration (ms).
Before training, first-time riders were found to focus less than experts on the
margins of the road and on the rearview mirrors, with more focus on irrelevant
areas below and above the center of the road. The data indicate that accidents
were rather the consequence of the inability to adapt speed to the conditions of the
road. Inexperienced riders are prone to accidents due to a lack of awareness of the
impending dangers, rather than a general tendency to drive faster. As expected,
training led to an improvement in the riding skills of first-time riders, reducing the
number of accidents, improving their capacity to adapt their speed to the situation,
reducing trajectory-corrective movements, and changing their pattern of gaze
exploration.
Feedback Loop
Feedback loops between the motorcycle and the rider can be formed, akin to the
information found at the following link, newatlas.com/daniel-de-bruin-
neurotransmitter-3000/48936/.


Invention Suggestions
The main goals for inventions within this RFI are:

- Improving rider skills.
- Increasing riding pleasure, by providing:
o More thrilling experience.
o Better matched engine sound, or increased correlation between engine
sound and movement; this is currently rider-dependent, but should be
customizable.
o Optimized use of the body (e.g. movement, position) to operate the
vehicle; because this is very hard to learn, teaching methods and/or
technology improvements will be required, including possible
communication between the motorcycle and the teacher.
o Increased speed of movement through congested areas.
o Increased sensation for the rider of being in control.
o More interactive feeling between rider and motorcycle.
- Increasing the perception of safety, especially for non-experienced riders, by
considering several areas:
o Engine temperature.
o Exposed human body.
o Exposed engine parts.
o Differences between experienced vs. non-experienced riders.
- Increasing the safety of use; for example, by making balance easier.
- Increasing the ease of operation; for example, by removing the stand and
start, thereby making it easier to hold and balance.
- Providing a smoother ride, for both driver and any back-seat rider, by:
o Removing the vibration when shifting gears to provide a smoother
ride.
o Providing anticipation information to the back-seat rider.
- Extending driving time for experienced elderly drivers by providing additional
assistance.
- Reducing the number and gravity of accidents, particularly for:
o Multi-vehicle crashes, in preparation for an environment where the
motorcycle will coexist in traffic with autonomous cars.
o Single-vehicle crashes caused by driver error.
With respect to improving rider skills, there are many approaches. The potential
areas for improvement generally fall into three main categories, namely vision,
information processing, and motorcycle manipulation. Within these areas, there
are several sub-categories, as described below.
Vision
Proper looking technique
 Methods for reducing target fixation (i.e. when the rider is focused on one
object to the exclusion of all others).


 Methods for encouraging a continuous seeking pattern (e.g. mirrors, then
center of the road, then roadsides, then instrument panel).
 Augmented Reality techniques – must consider government rules and
regulations. For example, in Japan, while there are no final regulations issued
to date, there are tentative guidelines resulting from car companies’
discussions with the government, which correspond to an image display
device as defined in the Road Traffic Law: the regular AR overlay area should
be between -1° and -4° below the line of sight, while a briefly overlaid image
displayed above -1° below the line of sight may not exceed two seconds.
Hazard detection
 Methods for intersection hazard detection.
 Methods for general detection of road hazards, such as potholes, pedestrians,
animals (e.g. deer, dogs, snakes, etc.), and other vehicles.
 Methods for detecting frontal collisions.
 Methods for detecting non-frontal hazards (ex: a car next to the motorcycle
and encroaching over the lane line, or getting too close to the motorcycle).
 Methods to guide the rider’s attention in the direction where he should be
looking.
Information Processing
Once information is obtained, the brain must properly process it and then
manipulate the motorcycle. While there is no way to address the brain processing
aspect besides training, proper motorcycle manipulation is addressable.
Motorcycle Manipulation
Cornering
 Methods for detecting proper entry speed for all corner types for a rider’s skill
level.
 Methods for proper turn initiation for all corner types for a rider’s skill level.
 Methods for detecting excessive or timid lean-angles for all corner types and
speeds for a rider’s skill level.
 Methods for detecting excessive or timid speed mid-corner for all corner
types for a rider’s skill level.
Speed
 Methods for detecting when a rider is going too fast for road conditions and
their skill level.
Physical Condition
Another important factor in riding a motorcycle is self-awareness of one’s physical
condition.
 Methods for detecting rider fatigue.
Such problems manifest themselves differently than with car drivers.
In addition, other possible Invention Suggestion Areas include:
- Methods to determine driver skill level, such as:


o Models to rank drivers.
o Passive methods; for example, by analyzing sensor readings to
determine skill level in a defined model.
o Active methods; for example, by enabling the motorcycle to create
artificial situations to evaluate driver response, while maintaining full
safety.
o Factoring in skill components, including reaction and anticipation.
o Methods to monitor driver input patterns.
- Sensors, which may be used in new software solutions.
- Technologies to anticipate surface conditions ahead (on the order of 100m).
- Technologies to anticipate weather conditions ahead (on the order of 1km).
- New artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) techniques
customized for intelligent motorcycles; non-deterministic software techniques
are allowed, except for critical areas such as safety, emission control, noise
control, etc.
- Methods for the motorcycle to adapt to a driver’s behavior
- Methods for the motorcycle to teach a driver new behaviors
- Capture the habits of drivers in order to:
o Customize a motorcycle’s systems and behavior to a certain driver
o Teach a driver new / improved behaviors
o Note that two experienced riders may have very different habits and
behaviors
Allowed technologies include:
- Games.
- Simulators.
- Haptics.
- Body suits.
- Size, position, and adjustability of handle bars/seats/pedals.
- Communication technology with other vehicles and/or stationary data
sources.
- Semi-active feedback (from motorcycle to the driver) to provide real-time
advice for the rider.
- Stabilization methods, e.g. leveraging the same basic technology already
used by Honda.
Areas to Avoid:
- Use of gyroscopes for stabilization.
- Active feedback from the motorcycle; real-time action by the motorcycle
itself may be allowed in some cases (such as ABS) but not in most others.
- Increasing safety at the expense of (reducing) riding pleasure / thrill.
- Simple notifications of potential danger, when not also improving riding skills
- Means to prevent accidents, when not also improving riding skills
Notes:
- This is a broad RFI with many potential solutions. For this particular RFI,
Xinova is looking only for software solutions to improve driver skill (possibly
augmented by new types of sensors).


- The primary goal is to improve the rider’s skills, using feedback from the
motorcycle, with the purpose of increasing riding pleasure.
- Inventors are recommended to focus each submission report on a well-
defined area of improvement identified above, in order to keep the inventions
focused.
- We are especially looking for forward-looking solutions with an adoption
horizon of 5 years or more.
- Solutions must be novel in order to be selected; simply using known AI/ML
techniques applied to a set of parameters from motorcycles does not produce
new solutions.


Current Market Review
Unit Sales
The figure below represents global unit sales for motorcycles. These figures do not
include three-wheeled vehicles or electric vehicles.
Figure 8: Global unit sales for motorcycles

Source: Yamaha financial reports


Competitive Landscape
Motorcycle Manufacturers
The world’s largest motorcycle manufactures are listed below, ranked by unit sales:
Honda – Japan (www.powersports.honda.com)
Yamaha – Japan (www.yamahamotorsports.com)
Hero MotoCorp – India (www.heromotocorp.com)
Bajaj Auto – India (www.bajajauto.com)
Harley Davidson – USA (www.harley-davidson.com)
Other major motorcycle manufacturers include:

BMW – Germany (www.bmw-motorrad.com)
Ducati – Italy (www.ducati.com)
KTM – Austria (www.ktm.com)
Suzuki – Japan (www.suzukicycles.com)
IMU Manufacturers
Bosch – www.bosch-motorsport.com
Fairchild Semiconductors – www.fairchildsemi.com/product-technology/mems-imu
Kionix – www.kionix.com
InvenSense – www.invensense.com


References
Books
Autonomous Intelligent Vehicles (2011) – Hong Cheng.
Advances in Intelligent Vehicles (2014) – Yaobin Chen, Lingxi Li.
Papers
Alvaro Cassinelli, Carson Reynolds, and Masatoshi Ishikawa, “Augmenting spatial
awareness with Haptic Radar,” IEEE, 2006.
Tsukasa Kamimura, Tomoya Kitani and Daniel L. Kovacs, “Automatic Classification
of Motorcycle Motion Sensing Data,” ICCE-Taiwan, 2014.
L.L. Di Stasi, D. Contreras, A. Cándido, J.J. Cañas, A. Catena, “Behavioral and eye-
movement measures to track improvements in driving skills of vulnerable road
users: First-time motorcycle riders,” Transportation Research Part F, 14:26-35,
2011.
V. Huth, R. Lot, F. Biral, S. Rota, “Intelligent intersection support for powered two-
wheeled riders: a human factors perspective,” IET Intell. Transp. Syst., 6:107–114,
2012.
K. Ambak, R. Atiq, and R. Ismail, “Intelligent transport system for motorcycle
safety and issues,” Eur. J. Sci. Res., 28:600–611, 2009.
F. Biral, M. Da Lio, and R. Lot, “An intelligent curve warning system for powered
two wheel vehicles,” Eur. Transp. Res. Rev., 2:147–156, 2010.
K. Yoneta, H. Daimoto, A. Yamamoto, “Rider Characteristics Assessment Device and
Straddle-Ridden Vehicle Provided Therewith,” EP2517952A1, Oct. 31, 2012.
M. Schlipsing, J. Schepanek, and J. Salmen, “Video-based roll angle estimation for
two-wheeled vehicles,” in Proceedings of the IEEE Intelligent Vehicles Symposium,
pp. 876–881, 2011.
“Roll Angle Estimation for Motorcycles: Comparing Video and Inertial Sensor
Approaches,” Marc Schlipsing, Jan Salmen, Benedikt Lattke, Kai Gerd Schröter, and
Hermann Winner, 2012 Intelligent Vehicles Symposium Alcalá de Henares, Spain,
June 3-7, 2012.
“Riding patterns recognition for Powered two-wheelers users' behaviors Analysis,”
Ferhat Attal, Abderrahmane Boubezoul, Latifa Oukhellou and Stephane Espie,
Proceedings of the 16th International IEEE Annual Conference on Intelligent
Transportation Systems (ITSC 2013), The Hague, The Netherlands, October 6-9,
2013.
F. Biral, R. Lot, R. Sartori, A. Borin, and G. Rizzi, “Development and testing of an
intelligent frontal collision warning for motorcycles,” in Proc. 13th EAEC, Valencia,
Spain, Jun. 14–17, 2011.


M. Fontana, F. Diederichs, G. Bencini, N. Baldanzini, R. Lot, A. R.Sartori, and M.
Spadoni, “SAFERIDER: Haptic feedback to improve Motorcycle safety,” in Proc.
Haptics Symp., Waltham, MA, Mar. 25–26, 2010.
Francesco Biral, Roberto Lot, Stefano Rota, Marco Fontana, and Véronique Huth,
“Intersection Support System for Powered Two-Wheeled Vehicles: Threat
Assessment Based on a Receding Horizon Approach,” IEEE Transactions on
Intelligent Transportation Systems, 13:805-816, 2012.
N. Magiera, H. Janssen, M. Heckmann, H. Winner, “Rider Skill Identification by
Probabilistic Segmentation into Motorcycle Maneuver Primitives,” IEEE 19th
International Conference on Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITSC), 2016.
Nattapong Wittayarungruengsri MSc, Thamrong Chirachariyavej MD, PhD, Thanit
Kusamran PhD, Montip Tiensuwan PhD., “Causes of Fatalities and Injuries from
Motorcycle Accidents in Bangkok by Autopsy Investigation,” 8th National Grad
Research Conference, 7-8 September 2007, Mahidol University.
Reports
Motorcycle Accidents In-Depth Study (MAIDS) – www.maids-study.eu
Global Status Report on Road Safety (WHO) –
www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/road_safety_status/2015/en/
Websites
No Surprise, No Accident – nosurprise.org.uk
SAFERIDER – www.saferider-eu.org
INTERSAFE-2 – www.intersafe-2.eu
Google’s Self-Driving Car – https://www.google.com/selfdrivingcar/
Blind Spot Monitoring – http://publicaffairsresources.aaa.biz/wp-
content/uploads/2014/12/Blind-Spot-Monitoring-Report.pdf
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration – www.nhtsa.gov
Organizations
International Driver & Rider Training Symposium
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) – Road Safety
Committee 9 – Technical Experts group: formed to develop common international
methodology for in-depth motorcycle crash investigation
Virginia Tech Transportation Institute’s Motorcycle Research Group –
www.motorcycle.vtti.vt.edu
Insitut fur Zweiradsicherheit (Institute for Two-Wheel Safety) – www.ifz.de
Honda Motorcycle R&D Center – world.honda.com/RandD/asaka/


Motorcycle Industry Council – www.mic.org
European Association of motorcycle Manufacturers (ACEM) – www.acem.eu
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration – www.nhtsa.gov
European Road Safety Observatory – www.erso.eu


Awards for Selected Solutions
We will conduct a global review of your invention using a team of experts who will
examine the technology, potential products, markets, future customers and existing
landscape.
We will select the best proposed solutions gathered during the circulation period of
this RFI.
We will pay any awards in installments, as per your written and executed contract
with us.


Notices
Please contact:
Xinova, LLC
701 Fifth Avenue, Suite 4100
Seattle, WA 98104 USA
Xinova Asia Pte. Ltd.
150 Beach Road, # 08-06/08, Gateway West
Singapore 189720
Copyright 2017. All rights reserved.
Any distribution of this document is strictly prohibited.
This document is the proprietary and confidential information of Xinova and any
affiliate thereof.
Inquiries:
Vlad Dabija
vdabija@xinova.com
RFI template version: 5.00


Instructions for Submission
Please read carefully before submitting Solution Reports
1. Terms and conditions of this RFI apply to anyone submitting proposed

solutions.
2. We accept only original, new and novel proposed solutions. Proposed
solutions not satisfying these requirements will not be considered.
3. Please direct any questions you may have to your local Xinova office.
Suggestions to refine, broaden or to include new information are welcome.
Any suggestions you provide are given entirely voluntarily and shall not
create any confidentiality obligation for us. We may use the suggestions
without obligation or restriction of any kind.
4. You may submit one or more Solution Reports during the circulation period of
this RFI. Please see the first page for the circulation period. We will not
accept any proposed solutions after the RFI Closing Date.
5. Please contact your local Xinova office for the Solution Report form. Please fill
out the form accurately and completely. Incomplete forms may be returned
to you for further action and may not be considered for acceptance.
6. Each proposed solution should be embodied in one Solution Report form. Do
not include multiple proposed solutions in one form.
7. We reserve the right to cancel or terminate this RFI at any time.
8. We may share information on select proposed solutions and/or provide
feedback to some or all of the inventors who submitted Solution Reports in
response to this RFI. All information shared and/or feedback provided is our
confidential information.
9. We will not retain any rights or obligations with respect to declined proposed
solutions.

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REQUEST FOR INVENTION (RFI)

Software for Improving Rider Skill

Circulation Date: Request for Invention

Xinova PROPRIETARY AND CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

Software for Improving Rider Skill and Pleasure

Xinova seeks the disclosure of software inventions that improve

Desired invention characteristics and some suggested areas of exploration

Xinova PROPRIETARY AND CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION 2

Software for Improving Rider Skill and Pleasure

Why This Problem Is Valuable to Solve

Xinova PROPRIETARY AND CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION 3

Software for Improving Rider Skill and Pleasure

Xinova PROPRIETARY AND CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION 4

Software for Improving Rider Skill and Pleasure

Figure 1: Three motorcycle axes

Xinova PROPRIETARY AND CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION 5

Software for Improving Rider Skill and Pleasure

Current Technology and Prior Solution Attempts

Xinova PROPRIETARY AND CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION 6

Software for Improving Rider Skill and Pleasure

Xinova PROPRIETARY AND CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION 7

Software for Improving Rider Skill and Pleasure

Figure 2: Tire contact patch

Xinova PROPRIETARY AND CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION 8

Software for Improving Rider Skill and Pleasure

Xinova PROPRIETARY AND CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION 9

Software for Improving Rider Skill and Pleasure

Xinova PROPRIETARY AND CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION 10

Software for Improving Rider Skill and Pleasure

Xinova PROPRIETARY AND CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION 11

Software for Improving Rider Skill and Pleasure

Figure 3: Intersection support software modules

Xinova PROPRIETARY AND CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION 12

Software for Improving Rider Skill and Pleasure

Figure 4: Road parameter for cornering scenarios

Next, the type of maneuver is defined (Figure 5).

Xinova PROPRIETARY AND CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION 13

Software for Improving Rider Skill and Pleasure

Figure 5: Types of maneuvers

Xinova PROPRIETARY AND CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION 14

Software for Improving Rider Skill and Pleasure

Figure 6: Computing methodology for analysis of rider skills

Figure 7: Experimental Honda CBF-1000

Xinova PROPRIETARY AND CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION 15

Software for Improving Rider Skill and Pleasure

Xinova PROPRIETARY AND CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION 16

Software for Improving Rider Skill and Pleasure

The main goals for inventions within this RFI are:

Xinova PROPRIETARY AND CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION 17

Software for Improving Rider Skill and Pleasure

Xinova PROPRIETARY AND CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION 18

Software for Improving Rider Skill and Pleasure

Xinova PROPRIETARY AND CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION 19

Software for Improving Rider Skill and Pleasure

Xinova PROPRIETARY AND CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION 20

Software for Improving Rider Skill and Pleasure

Figure 8: Global unit sales for motorcycles

Xinova PROPRIETARY AND CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION 21

Software for Improving Rider Skill and Pleasure

Other major motorcycle manufacturers include:

Xinova PROPRIETARY AND CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION 22

Software for Improving Rider Skill and Pleasure