rides

Kawasaki is set to debut night vision, helmet-mounted heads-up displays and collision avoidance technology!

Riding motorcycles at night is dangerous because of limited visibility so Kawasaki Heavy Industries made their 1400GTR that will soon have a night vision camera system that helps the rider see at night. Kawasaki will put two infrared cameras that can detect pedestrians and other vehicles and relays it to the driver through a helmet attached eyepiece and a speaker system. On the currently available 1400GTR, a sensor has been attached to the tires which notifies the rider when the tire pressure is too low.

KAWASAKI’S 1400 GTR is already one of the most technologically-advanced bikes on the planet – with variable valve timing, keyless ignition and tire pressure sensors as standard – but the firm is preparing a whole new generation of ground breaking technology for the next-generation GTR. Heading up the technological onslaught comes a system that until now has been in the preserve of only the world’s most expensive cars; night vision.

Significantly, one of the main designers of the GTR, Kaoru Kouchi, has also been working on the development of a helmet-mounted head-up display to go hand-in-hand with the new technology. Cleverly, his display is designed to mount around the outside of a normal motorcycle helmet, rather than being incorporated into the helmet itself.

With a helmet-mounted display the image from the infra-red camera, combined with the read-outs from the related computer system, can be either displayed in the peripheral vision of the rider or even superimposed over the view through the visor – highlighting dangers in the rider’s own view of the road ahead.