Honda and Kawasaki’s PATENTS for cameras and sensors on its motorcycles

Honda and Kawasaki have filed patents for sensors and cameras that detect possible risks out on the road.

Patents filed by Honda and Kawasaki confirm that the next advance in safety equipment is much closer to becoming a reality. Kawasaki has already announced that it will be launching models equipped with radar technology – and Ducati and KTM have also publicly displayed its own radar technology developed in partnership with Bosch.

Kawasaki has already announced that some of its future sensor equipped motorcycles will arrive on the market very soon – and the latest patents show sensors fitted to its H2 SX , Versys 1000 and Ninja 400 (and what looks like the ZX-12).  The sensors are located near either the indicators or headlights – and in some cases, come fitted with cameras too.

Honda’s patents show a couple of different methods “to provide the vehicle with sufficient information about the objects that surround it by means of data acquisition devices.” Like Kawasaki’s patents Honda’s designs show both sensors and cameras situated near the bikes headlights, at the end of the handlebars and at the rear end.

Interestingly, the video cameras will work to provide information to a switchboard that will detect hazards and warn the rider – feeding the bikes adaptive cruise control, hazard warning system, and once the next step of automotive connectivity becomes more widespread, will play a part in notifying other vehicles of our presence.

We’ve heard no official news from Honda about it rolling out the next step in rider technology, but with Kawasaki confirming its well on the way – chances are we’ll see it coming into play at the big bike shows towards the end of the year.