[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/6619\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003ESmall-scale Doppler effect to help cyclists stay safe\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBicycles haven\u0027t changed much in function since Karl Drais took the first ride 200 years ago in Germany, but while cyclists once only contended with horse-drawn buggies, modern city traffic leaves them more vulnerable than ever.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThat\u2019s why researchers are looking at how to make cars smarter to help drivers avoid vulnerable road users like cyclists and pedestrians.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018The city has to be for pedestrians,\u2019 said Andres Aparicio, senior manager for ADAS and connected and automated vehicles at the Spanish engineering group IDIADA. \u2018Step by step the car needs to go out of the city.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EUntil that happens, he is working with large automotive manufacturers like Audi, BMW, Daimler, Toyota, Volvo, Bosch, and Continental to develop prototype vehicles with automated systems that can help drivers avoid collisions.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAparicio runs an EU-funded research project called PROSPECT which has developed a sophisticated radar and car-mounted camera system that can provide advance detection of cyclists and pedestrians at intersections \u2013 from up to 80 metres away. And it\u0027s not just a blip on a screen.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018These are long-range high-resolution radar systems that are able to detect a shape or an object ... it can detect the shape of the legs of a pedestrian or the square shape of a car,\u2019 he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe PROSPECT researchers are also using camera motion recognition and micro-Doppler effects from radar. The Doppler effect, the change in frequency of sound, light, or other waves from an object as it approaches a target, can be used to measure its speed. Micro-Doppler has an even tighter focus, and detects varying speeds of various parts of one object.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EPredicting intent\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Different parts of the body moving at a different speeds, that helps predict pedestrian intent. If you are about to start walking or running, we can predict it,\u2019 said Aparicio.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESuch judgements are made without a second thought by human drivers, but are harder for a machine. By using micro-Doppler, the system is better able to pick up subtle movement cues we take for granted.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018The cars are sensing not only cyclists that may be crossing, but also parked cars and walkers on the side of the road as well,\u2019 said Aparicio.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt\u0027s important that the system is not too sensitive though, or else the car would be overreacting to the stimuli for a busy urban environment.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003E\u2018The system increases the comfort and safety of cyclists.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EProfessor Luca Pietrantoni, University of Bologna, Italy\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt is therefore designed to provide drivers with a warning from metres away, but the collision avoidance only kicks in at the last second, choosing the best option, to steer around or to brake, to stop a crash.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEven though fully automated cars are on the way, the city is still the most complicated scenario and the hardest for vehicles to perform in, Aparicio explained.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Full automation will first come in comfortable situations like highways, where cars are all going the same speed and things are more predictable.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFatalities\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn the meantime, systems like these may be the last line of defence to protect vulnerable pedestrians and cyclists. While motorist deaths are on the decline in Europe, fatalities from two-wheeled vehicles, bicycles and motorcycles, remain stubbornly high.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECyclists account for a stable or growing share of people injured in traffic accidents, with a rate 7-9 times higher than car travel, according to researchers.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EProfessor Luca Pietrantoni from the University of Bologna in Italy runs the EU-funded XCYCLE project, which has analysed hundreds of accidents between cyclists and cars to try and look for ways to cut down the numbers.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA common problem with cyclists is the crossing of junctions on red signals, so to cut back on this the team has tested a new system of timed green lights known as a green wave.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThey are programmed so that if cyclists ride at a speed of 20 kilometres per hour, they will hit green lights all the way through their journey. The system is designed to coincide with cyclists flowing into city in the mornings and out in the afternoons.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018The system increases the comfort and safety of cyclists,\u2019 Prof. Pietrantoni said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018This green wave strategy will be launched this summer in the bike-friendly city of Groningen in the Netherlands for user behavioural evaluation purposes,\u2019 said Prof. Pietrantoni.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/bit.ly\/newsalertsignup\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003E\u003Cimg src=\u0022https:\/\/horizon-magazine.eu\/research-and-innovation\/sites\/default\/files\/hm\/news-alert-final.jpg\u0022 width=\u0022983\u0022 height=\u0022222\u0022 \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearchers on the project are also developing new systems for motorised vehicles, such as audio and visual warnings for lorry drivers that can help prevent one of the most common accidents \u2013 hitting cyclists when lorries turn across bike lanes.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018For example, a bicycle bell that rings as an auditory reminder to truck drivers to avoid a collision,\u2019 said Prof. Pietrantoni.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKitting out bikes, especially electric bikes, with better avoidance systems could also help.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Most of the on-bike systems available in the market give information to the cyclist about the route, but it\u2019s relatively uncommon to find a safety-related on-bike system,\u2019 said Prof. Pietrantoni.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe team was specifically interested in trying to understand the risk of a crash at an intersection. I\u003Cspan style=\u0022font-size: 13.008px;\u0022\u003En a controlled area in Italy\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cspan style=\u0022font-size: 13.008px;\u0022\u003Ethey tested a safety system installed on the handle bar of a bicycle which provided visual and auditory warnings to the cyclist, preventing an unsafe encounter between them and any nearby vehicles.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe team found that cyclists will adapt their behaviour if they have access to such additional avoidance tools.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Some cyclists are quite reluctant to have expensive technology on their bike, but other types of consumers who are using electric bikes are more willing to accept this type of safety-related tech,\u2019 said Prof. Pietrantoni.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EIf you liked this article, please consider sharing it on social media.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/textarea\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \u003Cdiv id=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 class=\u0022ecl-help-block description\u0022\u003E\n Please copy the above code and embed it onto your website to republish.\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cinput autocomplete=\u0022off\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022form-w2vwnyrm9dqrs7tvu1igyrpwkapgt8ja5av3bhtoguw\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_build_id\u0022 value=\u0022form-W2vWnyRm9dQRS7TVU1igYrPWkAPGT8Ja5AV3BHTOGUw\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003Cinput data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_id\u0022 value=\u0022modal_form_example_modal_form\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003C\/form\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E","dialogOptions":{"width":"800","modal":true,"title":"Republish this content"}}]