Assignment 2

            When designing motor vehicles, an engineer must scrutinize to a great extent; with consumers interacting so heavily with such structures in the most dangerous of situations, lives are literally on the line. This is especially true with motorcycles. Multiple factors—including the lack of balance a four wheeled motor vehicle possesses, the lack of the surrounding-metal-protection of a traditional car, and the tendency to not be seen by larger motor vehicles— lead to a heightened importance in considering safety when designing a motorcycle.

            For the purpose of creating a more safe and user-friendly way to ride a motorcycle, while still maintaining the joy riding a motorcycle conveys, I would like to design an automatic braking/turning mechanism for motorcycles. In addition to reducing potential multiple-vehicle riding accidents, this would also reduce the amount of single-vehicle accidents—accounting for over 25% of motor cycle crashes. The mechanism would function based off of a danger-detecting software which would detect a potential riding obstacle based on current speed, distance from the object, and current turning angle of the motorcyclist. If the obstacle seems eminent, the mechanism would either activate a forced wheel-swerve while still maintaining upright balance of the chassis, or— if the obstacle was unavoidable— the rear and front tire brakes would be activated.

            The design of such a function involves much necessary knowledge regarding the fields of physics, computer programming, mathematics, and engineering. The device must be able to identify what is and is not an eminent obstacle; it must be able to swerve structure without the rider losing balance of it; it must be able to decelerate quickly enough to avoid danger, but not so quickly that the front tire skids and balance is lost. To further understand how to accomplish such tasks, the following courses must be taken:

-PHY131: Classical Physics 1- This course allows for a further understanding of the forces which may act upon the motorcycle in the process of turning, braking, and speeding up. The fundamentals of these movements are necessary in the manufacturing of any device which aids in such movements.

-ESG111: C Programming For Engineers- This course allows the student to understand how to approach the task of writing a program to process what is going on and react accordingly.

-ESG217: Engineering Science Design I- This course teaches the techniques necessary to design the mechanism. It supplies the student with skills necessary to approach problems and solve them using current technology.

-ESE315: Control System Design- This course teaches the student how to design a system to manage and direct all aspects of the motorcycle’s automated turning/braking system.

-ESE325: Modern Sensors- This course focuses on the sensors necessary for the detection of an incoming obstacle.

-ESE358: Computer Vision- This course teaches visual processing, a task essential for the mechanism to detect and process incoming obstacles.

            Many of these courses fall outside of the Engineering Sciences major. However, if I were to specialize in Electrical Engineering, I would be able to take a majority of them. These courses include ESE358, ESE315, and ESE325. In addition to taking these courses, interning for a motor vehicle manufacturing company may also help to further understand exactly what needs to be done to design such a device.