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Tech boosts pedestrian safety

Posted on 27 July, 2017
Tech boosts pedestrian safety

Australian tech firm Cohda Wireless has trialled its radar-powered vehicle-to-pedestrian technology on city streets for the first time. The technology was initially developed for use in autonomous vehicles, and has since been adapted for motorcycles. Cohda has partnered with Bosch, Ducati and autonomous tech firm Autotalks to create the technology, which forms a ‘digital protective shield’, warning drivers and riders of nearby traffic. While Bosch is commercialising the technology in its Ducati motorbikes, Cohda says the radar could be retrofitted to any vehicle. Bosch says that motorcyclists are 18 times more likely to be killed in a collision than car drivers, but the new radar could prevent nearly a third of all motorcycle accidents. Manading director of Cohda Paul Gray says the technology was a safety step up from seatbelts and air bags. “Technologists have gone as far as they can in terms of minimising harm during an accident, and now it is about avoiding the accidents before they even happen,” he said. “If a motorcyclist is riding down the street, it will be alerted when a car turning onto the same road creates an opportunity for an accident. This can also happen when the car moving onto the road is not visible to the rider. “The radar will also alert drivers who are changing lanes if someone is in their blind spot, which is quite an issue for motorcyclists.” The radar technology will eventually be in every autonomous vehicle as well, says Gray. The new technology has been trialled in South Australia, the first state across the ditch to introduce laws allowing for autonomous vehicle trials.