The production of the Multistrada V4, the first motorcycle to use front and rear radar technology, has now begun at the Ducati factory in Borgo Panigale. The Multistrada V4 marks a major breakthrough for the Bolognese motorcycle manufacturer and will be officially presented on 4th November.
For the fourth generation of Multistrada, Ducati has developed a new V4 engine, which is light and compact, designed to meet the needs required in the "adventouring" use without neglecting emotion and sportiness. The complete redesign has made it possible to achieve record-breaking maintenance intervals for the world of two wheels. All the details of this new engine will be revealed on 15th October.
Ducati brings radars to production bikes, confirming what was anticipated in 2018 (please refer to the link for the press release of April 2018). The adoption of these systems promises to be a real revolution for the world of two wheels, marking a new level of excellence in terms of comfort and driving assistance, especially on long motorway journeys.
Radars are advanced aid systems capable of supporting and making driving more comfortable thanks to the ability to reconstruct the reality surrounding the motorcycle. Ducati's interest in this type of system dates back to 2016, when the Borgo Panigale company worked in collaboration with the Department of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering of the Milan Polytechnic (Politecnico di Milano) to experiment this type of system. This first experience confirmed the applicability of this technology to the world of two wheels and pushed Ducati to create a complete package of driving assistance through the use of two radars, which, in the space of 4 years, was developed and produced with the support of Bosch, a first-level technological partner, and now sees its first application on the new Multistrada V4.
Each radar has compact dimensions (70 x 60 x 28 mm, similar to a modern "action camera") and integrates perfectly into the motorcycle, weighing only 190 grammes.
The radar positioned in the front of the vehicle controls the operation of the adaptive cruise control (called ACC, Adaptive Cruise Control), which, by means of controlled braking and acceleration, automatically adjusts the distance (selectable on four levels) from other vehicles when driving at a speed between 30 and 160 km/h. This car-derived system has evolved and has been developed according to the dynamics and ergonomics of a two-wheeled vehicle. In particular, the system's authority to decelerate and accelerate has been limited, in order to ensure the driver the ability to maintain constant control of the vehicle in any situation. The system allows for more comfortable driving, especially on long motorway journeys.
The rear radar, on the other hand, is able to detect and signal vehicles positioned in the so-called blind spot, that is the area not visible either directly by the driver or through the rear-view mirror. The system also signals the approaching from behind of vehicles at high speed (the so called BSD, Blind Spot Detection).
A patent application relating to the control algorithms of this system was filed in May 2017 to underline the technical-scientific value of the research project, carried out jointly by Ducati engineers and researchers and undergraduates from the Milan Polytechnic (Politecnico di Milano). Furthermore, in June 2017, a Scientific Publication was presented at the Intelligent Vehicles Symposium (IV) of the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) in Redondo Beach, California.
