Bolstering Awareness with Real-Time Rider Alert and Cueing for Upcoming Danger Avoidance (BARRACUDA)

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.