Characterization of Optical Sensors for Real-Time Measurement of Motorcycle Tilt Angles

An effective optical sensor for real-time measurement of the tilt angle in high-speed motorcycles was developed and tested. The basic idea and target of this work is to create a compact, reliable and also low-cost optical triangulators capable of accurate in-field measurements, in the harsh environment of sport motorcycles. Calculations of the required system sensitivity and allowable accuracy are described for this kind of optical sensor. The first prototypes, based on LED emitters, demonstrate the viability of such optical solution but they suffer from significant performance degradation due to solar interference, moved at high Fourier frequency by the combined effect asphalt roughness and motorbike speed. A second-generation instrumentation is under study, relying on laser emitters. Such novel triangulators promise good and reliable performance for the proposed application, keeping low costs and encumbrance and overcoming the problem of solar interference.