CHARLES RIVER ANALYTICS, INC. — Department of Transportation SBIR Phase II: 151FH3

Description

In addition to hazards relevant to automobiles, motorcycle riders must remain vigilant for hazards that pose significant danger uniquely to motorcycles, such as uneven terrain, sand/gravel, and potholes. However, there is currently no motorcycle-specific hazard tracking or alerting system available for riders. To address this need, Charles River Analytics executed a successful Phase I effort to design and demonstrate the feasibility of a system for Bolstering Awareness with Real-Time Rider Alerting and Cueing for Upcoming Danger Avoidance (BARRACUDA). Our Phase I prototype captures and integrates relevant information from an array of public databases and a custom crowdsourced hazard reporting capability. It then fuses this information and applies automated geolocalization and risk assessment algorithms to allow riders to plan safer routes prior to departure (via a route planning smartphone application), and be alerted to upcoming hazards while en route (via an augmented reality heads-up display combined with a proof-of-concept ecologically-grounded display symbology). In Phase II, we propose to design, develop, and evaluate a full-scope BARRACUDA system, primarily through refinement of current capabilities, development of computer vision-based hazard detection capabilities, integration of additional alerting modalities, and validation through human-use studies.