Yamaha invents the motorcycle that never falls over

Abracadabra! The Japanese manufacturer Yamaha has developed a motorcycle that can balance on its own in the interest of ultimate safety.

Last year, Yamaha Motor presented its vision of safety Jin-Ki Kanno x Jin-Ki Anzen, which aims to create a world without accidents for motorcyclists. The three pillars of this approach are:

1) Technology, which helps recognize the rider, judge, operate, and limit damages

2) Skills and improving those skills in users’ riding

3) Connectivity, where the cloud is used to provide feedback on safety initiatives.

Improving stability during startup and at low speeds

Motorcycle accidents are mainly attributed to recognition errors (10%), decision errors (17%), and handling errors (5%) by the rider. Data also indicates that about 70% of motorcycle accidents happen within two seconds of the incident trigger. Based on these accident causes analyses, Yamaha Motor is currently developing driver assistance in four areas: assisted danger prediction, assisted damage prevention, assisted evasion maneuvers, and damage mitigation.

Presented last year, the AMSAS system stabilizes a vehicle’s behavior at low speeds by controlling drive and steering forces. “Its most distinctive feature is its approach that uses an easily applicable device to existing vehicles since it requires no chassis modifications,” explains project leader Akitoshi Suzuki. The prototype system under development uses a stock YZF-R25 as a platform and is equipped with a 6-axis inertial measurement unit (IMU) as well as drive and steering actuators.

AMSAS is a riding aid that focuses on the instability a motorcycle experiences at startup or low speeds, aiming to improve vehicle stability in these moments. “During startup or at a stop, the drive actuator mounted on the front wheel contributes to stability, and up to about 5 km/h, the steering actuator mounted on the handlebar takes over,” explains Suzuki. Thanks to the coordination of both, the developing AMSAS prototype can move at walking speed without falling, regardless of the rider’s skill level onboard.

An adaptable technological platform for various mobility applications

Yamaha Motor has already made headlines by unveiling MOTOBOT – an autonomous humanoid robot riding a motorcycle – and MOTOROiD, a prototype motorcycle equipped with AI and self-balancing technology. “The research and development of AMSAS began with the idea of putting the technologies and expertise gained from developing these two models at the disposal of customers worldwide,” explains Suzuki.

Jun Sakamoto, Yamaha’s safety strategy manager, explains the interest in AMSAS: “It is about creating conditions where the rider can focus more on riding their motorcycle, so everyone can enjoy the feeling of being one with their machine. By providing assistance when the motorcycle becomes more unstable and requires greater skills to operate, we want to offer more peace of mind and fun to a wide range of riders.”

Zero Fatalities by 2050!

Yamaha has set a goal to reduce to zero the number of fatal motorcycle accidents by 2050 and is intensifying efforts based on the three pillars mentioned earlier: technology, skills, and connectivity. AMSAS is a technology with the potential to become an essential rider aid when used in conjunction with other technologies, such as the unified brake system linked to radar – the first of its kind in the world – already deployed on the TRACER 9 GT+.

“With the basic technologies in place, we are halfway toward our goal of bringing the value of AMSAS to customers,” affirms Mr. Suzuki. He and his team have big ambitions for this technology: “From now on, we will strive to reduce the size of various components, etc., because we want to make it a platform not only for motorcycles but also for a wide range of other personal mobility applications, such as bicycles.”

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