Yamaha Motor Safety Vision and Technology Briefing

Yamaha Motor Safety Vision and Technology Briefing

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Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you very much for your waiting and for your attendance today. We would now like to start Yamaha Motor Safety Vision and Technology Briefing. Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Yuko Mamiya. I'm honored to serve as your MC today. In view of the need to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus infection we are organizing today's event in a hybrid format. We appreciate your kind

understanding In order to ensure clear speech we will be speaking, the speaker and the MC will be speaking without wearing masks. Now, the microphone goes to Mr. Hidaka, CEO Good afternoon, Ladies and Gentlemen. I am Hidaka representing Yamaha Motor. Once again thank you very much for joining us in this briefing session. As awareness of safety is on the rise

around the world, Yamaha Motor is also promoting safety initiatives. Today I would like to explain our safety vision and our initiative to you all. First I would like to talk about the history of motorcycle development at Yamaha Motor. Our company's history began with the YA1 in released in 1955. At its design stage, the YA-1 pursued to achieve safe "riding turning and stopping" using the latest technology at that time. Its outstanding performance has been proven by victories in numerous races including the Asama Highlands Race which is officially called first All Japan Motorcycle Endurance Road Race. This initiative of pursuing safe "riding,

tuning and stopping" continues to this day at the Yamaha Motor's production sites as the cornerstone of its motorcycle manufacturing. However, because of the progress as a result of motorization in Japan, 16,800 people were killed in traffic accidents in 1970s, resulting in a situation called "the traffic war", in which many people died. Yamaha Motor concerned about this situation and started moped license classes nationwide in 1969. This activity led to what is now known as the Yamaha Riding Academy which is now held in 76 countries around the world with a cumulative total of 1.34 million riders participating since 2010. We have a history of rider assist technology, including the world's first mass produced motorcycle "Chip Controlled Throttle", which enhances the controllability of the throttle valve under a range of riding conditions. Through these evolutions, we have been able to further improve stability, visibility and convenience.

With smartphone connectivity we have been able to support customers maintenance needs as well. Let me now turn to the trends in traffic accidents. This data shows changes in the number of traffic accidents fatalities in 34 major countries. The number of automobile accident fatalities is on the decline but the rate of decline has become less in the last 10 years. In case of motorcycle, it has it can be

said that there has been a slight upward trend. That is why we cannot reduce motorcycle accident that cannot stand on their oun unless we work together with our customers to create a world free of accidents. With this understanding we are announcing our vision for safety and initiatives to achieve it. Now

let me introduce our safety vision. Yamaha Motor has set "Art for Human Possibilities: Let's strive for greater happiness" as its Long-Term Vision for 2030. We have made Transforming Mobility a part of that Long-Term Vision to adress and bring change to a variety of mobility-related social issues while striving to bring fun to personal mobility, one of its intrinsic values. Today, I would like to explain our future efforts and direction for how we will tackle societal issues related to safety. First, let me explain what Jinki-Kanno is. A motorcycle is a vehicle in which the rider uses his entire body for control. Therefore, to help prevent accidents

humans and machines must work together, much like the wheels of an automobile. Jin-ki Kanno is Yamaha Motor's exclusive development ideal which seeks to deliver users the seductive exhilaration felt when they truly become one with their machine. As the core framework of Yamaha's Monozukuri manufacturing, this ideal permeates every worksite. Through a more complementary relationship between people and their machines, we aim to create a new path with our customers that goes from taking on new challenges to unique Kando experiences. Next, Jin-Ki Anzen is our belief that having people and machines work together in complementary ways can make more sophisticated safety skills and technologies possible. Centering our safety efforts on

technologies, User Skills, and Connectivity, Yamaha Motor will seek to create a world free of accidents together with our customers, in which users can experience the joy and Kando that comes from progressing their own skills and abilities while having fun at the same time. Technologies, user skills, and connectivity are the three pillars of Jin-Ki Anzen and important keywords Maruyama-san will explain in greater detail later. In these ways, Yamaha Motor too is striving to achieve zero fatal traffic accidents by 2050 but we cannot do this all by ourselves so we will work to strengthen our co-creation initiatives in order to realize our goal together with our customers. Thank you very much. Thank you very much, Mr Hidaka. Next would like to hear from Mr. Marayama Hello and good day. I am Maruyama, Chief General Manager of Technical Research

and Development Center. Today, I would like to explain about safety technology for motorcycles. First, I would like to introduce our approach to riding assist.

This pie chart analyzes some of the causes of accidents involving motorcycles. As you can see, motorcycle accidents are 30% due to motorcycle riders' errors and more than 50% are due to automobile drivers' errors. Based on this result we believe that the first thing we must do is work to eliminate errors related to motorcycle riders recognition, decision, and operation. Furthermore we believe that we must improve the recognition of motorcycles by automobile drivers.

As many of you already understand, for automobile drivers small motorcycles tend to be difficult to spot and seem to be farther away than their actual distance.These are major contributing factors in accidents. Please take a look at this graph. This is the result of a motorcycle accident survey conducted in Europe. It represents the time from the cause of the accident to the actual accident. As you can see, 70% of motorcycle accidents happen within two seconds after the trigger of the accident happens.

And we know that many riders are not able to perform appropriate avoidance maneuvers in this short time. in the face of an imminent accident. It is not easy for a rider to take appropriate avoidance maneuvers in this short time. Therefore in such situations, without relying too much on the rider's avoidance maneuvers, we believe that it is necessary to support the rider with riding assistance technology. Based on the results of various accident analyzes that have been conducted so far, we have summarized four riding assist approaches. First, to prevent accident triggers from occurring, assist in preventing operation errors by automobile drivers. Secondly assist automobile drivers to prevent them from failing to recognize motorcycles and making decision errors.

Thirdly, emergency avoidance riding assist applicable after an accident trigger has occurred. And lastly, damage mitigation assist when an accident is unavoidable. Riding assist approaches does not only refer to the technology installed in the vehicle. It also includes communicating our knowledge and experience to our customers to help prevent accidents and reduce damage. Now I would like to explain our Safety Activities and Measures. Motorcycles are made run stably with the human control.

Therefore, it is necessary to improve safety both in areas by improving human skills and by assisting using machines. I will now explain about the three pillars of “Jin-ki Kanno x Jin-ki Anzen”. In terms of Technology, by conveying to the rider about surrounding vehicles, traffic regulation status, potential risk prediction results etc.,

the technology further assist in recognition and decision. In addition, in the low speed range where higher balance ability is required, the technology assists operation and helps to confirm the surrounding conditions so as to maintain greater stability. Furthermore, in the unlikely event of an accident, occupant protection and automatic accident notification will assist in damage mitigation. In terms of Skill, regardless of whether it is digital or real, we will help increase connections with all customers and assist them in acquiring knowledge and experience regarding safety and improving their driving skills while having fun. To this end, in addition to the Yamaha Riding Academy which we have been doing to date, we will also enhance micro-learning contents so riders may more easily participate in safe driving classes on demand at any time.

In terms of connectivity, by drastically increasing the connections between riders and mobility, we will collect riding and operating conditions data to further provide safety feedback to Jin-ki, people and machines. From here, we would like to introduce three actual examples of assist provided through technology. First, we will introduce the Radar-linked Unified Brake System and the adaptive cruise control function. This function is installed in the TRACER 9 GT Plus, which is scheduled to be released next year. Please watch the video explaining how it works. [Music] As you can see in the video, this radar-linked unified brake system is designed to add braking force if the rider's braking operation is insufficient when too close to the vehicle in front.

This is a world first system. This system respects the rider's will and control and is set up to provide support if their effectiveness is deemed insufficient. Next technology is cooperative intelligent transport system. Please watch this video.

The failure of automobile drivers to recognize an approaching motorcycle is responsible for a large percentage of our accidents involving motorcycles. These are the so-called right turn accidents. Right turn accidents, which are often accompanied by serious and unexpected collisions, are tragic as they often result in serious injuries to the rider. The video you are watching shows examples from Europe, so it is applied to left turn-accidents. A motorcycle is following behind a small truck, and an oncoming white passenger car is about to turn left. In this case, the passenger car driver is unable to see the motorcycle as it is blocked by the small truck and is attempting to accelerate to make a left turn after the small truck has passed. In this scene, the passenger car and

motorcycle are wirelessly connected via a V2X communication device, and a motorcycle approach warning pops up on the passenger car's display. A motorcycle is coming!" With this warning, the driver notices the oncoming motorcycle, delays the left turn and thereforeis able to prevent an accident. As you can see this cooperative intelligent transport system is a more effective system for typical "accidents that happen in a blink of an eye." This system cannot be effective if it is installed only on Yamaha Motor's motorcycles. We cannot expect an accident deterrence effect unless we connect with as many two-wheeled and four-wheeled vehicles, buses, trucks, and infrastructure as possible regardless of the manufacturer. In 2016, Yamaha Motor established the Connected Motorcycle Consortium together with Honda Motor Co., Ltd.,

and BMW Motorrad in order to promote the practical application and spread of this system. This consortium studies specifications for in-vehicle systems that enable interconnection with four-wheeled vehicles and infrastructure and we actively work on proposals for revising existing standards to take motorcycles into consideration, and disseminate information to help prevent motorcycle accidents. This cooperative intelligent transport system is still in the research and development stage, but it is proceeding with the aim of commercializing it in the future. As a third example of technology part, we will introduce the Advanced Motorcycle Stability Assist System. We call it AMSAS for short. Please take a look at this video.

This Advanced Motorcycle Stability Assist System (AMSAS) was developed with the aim of allowing everyone to enjoy a sense of unity with their machine in a safer and more comfortable manner. This technology assists in stabilizing the vehicle posture at speeds of five kilometers per hour or less, which is an area that requires a high level of riding skill on the part of the rider. Equipped with a control function for driving and steering force, the system helps to maintain balance, assists the rider's operation and therefore further enhances its stability at low speeds. In addition, this system is characterized by increasing the applicability to existing models by minimizing changes to the basic frame of the vehicle. This advanced motorcycle stability assist system is still in the research and development stage, but it will be further evolved in the future. For example, in the event of an accident that requires emergency avoidance maneuvers the system aims for the practical application of an assist function that further enables stable avoidance maneuvers such as riding, turning, and stopping. Next, let's look at two examples of skills. In order to

achieve greater safety through the synergy between humans and machines, it is important to improve riding skills related to human recognition, decision and operation. Therefore, we will continue to expand our safety classes in both real and digital. In real program, we are developing an experimental-type safety program to further help acquire the knowledge and operation of safe riding. In the process of exploring Jin-ki Kanno, we have conducted extensive research on human maneuverability and vehicle motion characteristics. The Yamaha Riding Feedback System was developed using some of the knowledge and technology acquired through such research. This system acquires data on the position and speed of the vehicle, and provides feedback to the riders on the analysis results of acceleration/ deceleration and turning, thereby assisting in improving riding skills.

The Yamaha Riding Feedback System has been in operation since April last year at the Yamaha Riding Academy. We will further promote research and development of virtual reality/augmented reality simulators and others and aim to develop an experience-based safety program that allows you to safely learn emergency avoidance riding maneuvers. Another skill approach is a digital, on-demand type safety program. In order to further increase the opportunities for more Riders to learn about safer riding we are implementing a digital on-demand safety program writers can watch short safety videos about three minutes long on demand for each item anytime or anywhere on their mobile phones. This micro-learning has the advantage that it is short, so riders can make use of their spare time and concentrate on their learning and it is easy to watch over and over again, making it easier to remember.

In addition to increasing the contents on micro learning, we will also work on developing new educational methods such as more advanced simulators and games linked to smartphones. In the future we plan to further aggregate accident information in micro- learning, and develop it globally as a safer driving assistance tool that can be used both digitally and physically. Finally, I would like to introduce an example of connectivity.

We aim to realize accident-avoidance assist provision that help to further notify potential traffic accident risks by connecting humans and machines to the cloud. With the smartphone app Y-Connect, we have already realized not only the sharing of riding experiences, but also notification of failures and recommended maintenance times. In the future, we will further collect and analyze data that can be used to estimate the state of people and the state of the environment and provide feedback to riders to assist in the prevention of accidents caused by human error and accidents caused by the environment. That's all from my explanation of safety technology for motorcycles.

We have provided our customers with motorcycles that are designed to be more comfortable and safer when operated by humans. We hope that every rider will go back to their home with big smiles on their faces after riding the motorcycle and feeling the joy and excitement. Centering our safety efforts on Technologies, User Skills, and Connectivity, Yamaha Motor will seek to create a world free of accidents together with our customers. Thank you very much.

2023-01-20 04:15

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