It's clear that Kawasaki wants to be the industry-leader in rider-assist technology. By including front and rear radars on the 2022 Ninja H2 SX, it's now one of the fastest, yet safest sport-tourers currently available. Radar is truly a huge step forward when it comes to adaptive safety features. This has been evidenced by it being used in cars for more than a decade now. For bikes, however, Kawasaki believes that it can make things even safer.
Adaptive cruise control, collision alerts, and blind-spot monitoring are already possible with the radar technology in the 2022 H2 SX. Bosch contributed its knowledge to this device, which has a subtle appearance that complements the bike's design. Radar is excellent, but cameras can also help make up for the things that radar misses out on. This is exactly what Kawasaki is developing for the next-generation Ninja H2 SX.
Team Green has issued new patent applications for a camera-based system positioned on the front of the motorcycle. It seems to shed some light on the mysterious device sitting behind the bike's instrument cluster spotted in spy photos from 2021. The cameras, according to the patent application, enable features such as cornering headlamps, and more importantly, increased collision mitigation features such as traction control, autonomous braking, and lane-keep assist. Naturally, this is some interesting stuff, as chances are the cameras will be able to recognize objects such as pedestrians, other vehicles, and obstacles.
Given Kawasaki's incessant development of safety features consisting of radar and camera-powered systems, it won't be surprising if we could see these features roll out as soon as the 2023 model-year. Although it seems that the Ninja H2 SX platform is Kawasaki's guinea pig of choice, there's no denying that other bikes in Team Green's roster, such as the Versys adventure-touring range, could benefit from enhanced levels of safety tech, too.
It's interesting, too, as Kawasaki seems to be the first Japanese manufacturer to be taking the adaptive riding aids game seriously. We've already seen radar technology debut in European manufacturers such as BMW, KTM, and Ducati, as early as 2020. It's only now, though, that we're seeing camera-based systems being seriously developed for mass production on two-wheelers.
