Tag Archives: Bosch

Shell Partners With Volkswagon and Bosch to Co-develop Low-carbon “Blue” Gasoline

With most of the world staying home and cutting costs, it’s been no new pony trick to adapt to the environs and adjust to the outside world.  And in a world where carbon emissions are no laughing matter, three companies are stepping up to the proverbial plate and contributing to a very realistic grey zone between gasoline and electric vehicles. 

Model Hand filling up a new low-emissions vehicle with dubbed "Blue Gasoline"

According to a report from MotoPinas, Bosch and Volkswagon have joined forces with Shell to create a new low-carbon “blue” fuel that is made from 33% renewable ingredients from biomass-based naphtha and ethanol – two ingredients that have been certified by the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) system as sustainable.

When introduced to any compatible vehicle, this gasoline will ensure a reduction of 20% carbon emissions per kilometer driven. That’s a huge difference compared to today’s fossil fuel fleet, and the future is nearer than it seems.

Dr. Uwe Gackstatter, president of the Bosch Powertrain Solutions division, with a quote
Dr. Uwe Gackstatter, president of the Bosch Powertrain Solutions

GreenCarCongress also highlighted the importance of a fuel that has longer storage time. Sebastian Willmann, head of Internal Combustion Engine Development at Volkswagen, made the following statement:

“Blue Gasoline is another building block in the effective reduction of CO₂ emissions from the vehicle fleet. Blue Gasoline’s high storage stability makes the fuel particularly suitable for use in plug-in hybrid vehicles. In the future, the expansion of the charging infrastructure and larger batteries will mean that these vehicles predominantly run on electrical power, and thus that fuel may remain in the fuel tank for longer periods of time.”

Volkswagon has been using the dubbed “Blue Gasoline” to test proficiency in a group of Golf 1.5 TSI hatchbacks, and the results are stunning.  If driven 100,000 miles in one year, 1000 of these cars will have contributed to 230 LESS metric tons of CO₂ in our air.  That’s a hefty difference and something that many have decided is worth investing in.

View of gas tank from a Honda Motorcycle made in India

Person filling up a low-emissions vehicle with low-carbon fuel dubbed "Blue Gasoline"

Word is that the first country to reap the benefits of the Blue Gasoline will be the Philippines, where fuel-injected motorcycles will also benefit from the low-carbon bliss of a clean future.

Source: MotorbikeWriter.com

Bosch makes emergency call for riders

Soon your motorcycle, helmet and/or phone could contact emergency services if you crash with Bosch the latest to join the hi-tech safety revolution.

The Bosch system uses an “intelligent crash algorithm installed in the vehicle’s inertial sensor unit” to identify a crash via the various sensors such as an accelerometer and lean sensor.

It pairs with their Help Connect phone app to send your location to a Bosch Service Centre.

The automatic function can be overridden by the rider if, for example, they have just accidentally dropped the bake-off its stand!

So far the Bosch Help Connect system only works in Germany, but it will be rolled out across Europe and possibly around the world.Bosch Help Connect emergency call system crash test

We are not yet sure whether it can be retrofitted, but it would only work with a modern bike with an inertial sensor unit.

Like most Bosch technology, it is more likely to be included when bikes are built.

Since Bosch develops a lot of tech for motorcycles, it could be included in future models.

Bosch spokesman Harald Kroeger says they carried out 18 crash tests to analyse specific accident scenarios and demonstrate the functionality of Help Connect.

Bosch Help Connect emergency call system crash testBosch Help Connect crash test

Emergency tech mandated

These emergency call systems have been available in cars for some time and are now mandated throughout Europe with motorcycles expected to be included in the future.

It also may not be long before it is mandated in Australia after an Austroads report last year found that motorcycles should be fitted with the automatic crash call technology to reduce emergency response times which are more lethal in our rural and remote areas.

It points out that motorcyclist deaths have remained stable in major cities over the past decade, but increased in regional and remote Australia by up to almost 50% in recent years.

BMW Motorrad was the first motorcycle company to offer an SOS button in Europe.

BMW's SOS buttonBMW’s SOS button

It is not yet available in Australia because of an eCall hardware update and the lack of a nationwide rollout. Tesla also does not yet have the right hardware.

The Austroads report notes that the problem with these systems in Australia is the lack of mobile phone coverage in rural areas.

Riders can also use an EPIRB, download an emergency app, use this Aussie-made Sentinel device or, in future, wear a helmet with the device fitted.

Slow response timesOutback adventure Royal Flying Doctor Service calls

Delays in reaching crash victims in rural and remote areas include difficulties in locating crash sites and a lack of mobile phone reception, according to emergency organisations and motorcycle rider groups.

The Austroads report found the average time for a first responder to arrive at a motorcycle crash in rural and remote areas was 55 minutes compared with 18 minutes in urban areas.

Remote crash victims also took an average of 11.6 hours to arrive at a hospital emergency department compared with 59 minutes in urban areas.

“Retrieval time subsequently impacts on crash outcomes with delays until discovery or delays in accessing the trauma system increasing the risk of mortality following major trauma,” the repot finds.

The probability of a rider dying increased by 2.7% for every 100km from a hospital.

It’s a worrying statistic for adventure riders heading out into the Outback.

As a more rural example, the report says more than half of all Victorian motorcycle crashes occur in the Gippsland region where ambulance response times are 29.9 minutes compared with metropolitan times of 12.7-17.2 minutes.

South Australia and NSW are the only states with post-crash emergency response in their road safety strategy and action plans.

Source: MotorbikeWriter.com

Bosch glasses have head-up display

As smart motorcycle helmets with head-up display (HUD) technology are starting to hit the market, Bosch has designed a HUD system that works with your normal sunglasses or prescription glasses.

They believe it will be available in 2021. But just how safe is it?

How head-up display works

HUD is usually a system where a transparent periphery screen displays important information such as satnav turns and speed without the rider/driver having to look away from the road ahead at their instruments.

In some HUD systems, the display is projected on to car windscreens or helmets visors.

However, Bosch’s system uses a microelectromechanical scanner to bounce light off a holographic element built into the lens, directly on to your eye’s retina, not the glass lenses.

The glasses are completely transparent when turned off and the slim system does not need thick and bulky frames.

Bosch HUD head-up display glasses
Bosch HUD glasses can be worn by drivers and all types of riders

They are similar to expensive and heavy Google Glasses, but are flatter, lighter (only 10g) and work in all lighting conditions.

Bosch Snesortec boss Dr Stefan Finkbeiner says the display image is sharp, clear and always in focus.

“The Smartglasses Light Drive System is currently the smallest and lightest solution on the market and can convert almost any normal glasses into Smartglasses,” he says. 

“With such smart glasses, users receive a lot of undisturbed navigation information and short messages. This makes driving safer and replaces the constant staring on smartphones or smartwatches.”

Safety or distraction?

While we can see the safety aspect of displaying vital information without the rider/driver taking their eyes off the road to look at their instruments, we are concerned with the application of this tech.

Bosch says their device will display information currently available on your smartphone or smartwatch.

“It is ideal for applications such as navigation, calls, wake-up calls, appointment reminders and short message services such as WhatsApp and WeChat,” Bosch says on its website.

Great! Just what we need is motorists being distracted by messages and apps.

With phone distractions considered as dangerous as drink driving, the last thing we need is for superfluous information to be available to motorists.

As usual, legislation to prevent this will be a long way behind the technology.

And how would police patrol for such tech if the glasses look like normal glasses?

Bosch will debut their Light Drive smart glass technology at the CES 2020 consumer technology expo in Las Vegas next month and hopes to have it available for manufacturers in 2021 under the product name BML500P.

Source: MotorbikeWriter.com

Kawasaki to add advanced rider aids

Kawasaki will beat Ducati and KTM to the punch by introducing Bosch’s full suite of Advanced Rider Assistance Systems in 2021.

The systems include adaptive cruise control (ACC) which adapts speed to the vehicle in front, plus forward collision warning and blind-spot detection.

Ducati and KTM have announced that only some of these three systems will be introduced in their 2021 models.

Kawasaki will go with the three systems.

The Kawasaki announcement follows the recent unveiling of their electric motorcycle project at the EICMA motorcycle show in Milan this month.Kawasaki EV project

Perhaps that will be the bike that includes the three Bosch systems which are active at all times.

Advanced monitoring

The Bosch Advanced Rider Assistance Systems use mid-range radar sensors at the front and of the motorcycle for constant monitoring.

It sends alerts when a vehicle is in the bike’s blind spot or there is an imminent forward or rear collision.

Their adaptive cruise control uses the sensors to maintain a safe distance from the vehicle in front when cruise control is engaged.

Most of these advanced systems are already in use in many cars today, but none has been introduced to motorcycles yet.

Ducati is expected to add Bosch front and rear radar and cornering ABS to their entire range in 2021, but not adaptive cruise control.

Meanwhile, KTM has demonstrated Bosch’s adaptive cruise control and blind spot alert which they will introduced to their range in 2021. They will not introduce the forward collision warning system.

Bosch has also been working on jet thrusters that will prevent a low-side slide.

Bosch rider aids blind spot warning sensors automated radar radar year
Bosch thrusters to prevent low-sides

 

Source: MotorbikeWriter.com

A year of motorbike technology

Technology dominated motorcycle news this year with jet thrusters to prevent low-siders, sidecars with a drone launching pad, plus self-riding, self-balancing and even flying motorcycles.

While most of these are fanciful or far-off innovations, there was some advance in more useable technology.

Ducati and KTM have made giant leaps forward with Bosch developing blind spot alerts to prevents sideswipe accidents and adaptive cruise control that keeps  the bike a set distance from vehicles in front.

Big Bosch tech

Bosch tests jet thruster year
Bosch tests jet thruster

But the biggest tech story of the year for us was the Bosch jet thrusters that prevent low-siders.

The system uses pressurised gas to blast a jet of air out of the high side of the bike when sensors, gyroscopes and accelerometers detect the wheels sliding sideways.

This sudden jet of air is designed to help counteract the slide pressures and lift the bike back up.

ON the one hand, it would be great to have tech that would prevent low-sides, but just how much will this add to the weight of the bike and its expense.

And, like an airbag inflator it would be a one-time activation, so you would be up for the expense of a new activator after it’s been deployed.

Given the problems with faulty Takata airbags, we’re not so sure about this tech.

Quirky tech of the year

There have been some quirky bits of tech this year.

One of the most interesting is Suzuki beacon light that shines on the roof to make traffic aware of the rider’s presence.

They filed for a patent this year so it may be a while before that comes to market.

Furion M1 Hybrid SportBike with Wankel rotary engine year
Furion M1 Hybrid SportBike

Then there’s the Furion M1 hybrid motorcycle from France that has a Wankel rotary engine  and an electric motor. So far, its only CAD images on a computer screen.

And here’s some tech you never thought you would need that will be available soon in Australia.

The Russian Ural AIR outfit includes a DJI Spark drone and a special discrete and waterproof compartment with a launching platform!

And while a new electric motorcycle company seems to spring up every week this year, Ural also unveiled its plans for the world’s first electric outfit with batteries under the chair.

URAL electric sidecar prototype year
URAL electric sidecar prototype

Perhaps the strangest tech is the Lazareth La Moto Volante Maserati V8-powered four-wheel leaning motorcycle with jet turbines in the wheels s it can fly like a drone.

La Moto Volante is planned for release on January 31.

Maserati Quattroporte engine powers this Lazareth LM 847 quad concept flying year
Maserati Quattroporte engine powers this Lazareth LM 847 quad concept

Source: MotorbikeWriter.com