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The amount of software integrated into today's vehicles growths exponential and tends to be a patchwork of non interrelated applications. However the interrelationship gets more and more intensive as applications start to cooperate and therefore communicate with each other. By introducing a domain exceeding middleware concept we want applications to experience a high level of integration and enable outsourcing of features applications have in common.

The Side View Assist is the World’s first rider assistance system for two-wheelers. This is a Blind Spot Warning system, which uses four ultrasonic sensors to monitor the surrounding of the rider. Whenever there is a vehicle (i.e. a car, truck, or another motorbike) in the rider’s blind spot, the technology warns the rider with an optical signal close to the mirror. This will allow the rider to avoid a collision when changing lanes. In the current vehicle application, Side View Assist is active at speeds ranging from 25 to 80 kilometers per hour and supports riders whenever the difference in relative speed to other road users is small. The system helps to improve safety especially in cities, where heavy traffic makes it necessary to change lanes more often. Originally such systems have been developed for cars and different system solutions for cars have been in serial production for several years. The challenge was to adapt these systems so they would work for two-wheelers as well.

This paper shows that the functional integration of Electronic Throttle Control (ETC) into the engine control strategy allows improvements of emissions and fuel economy without making compromises in respect of driveability. A cost effective way for realizing ETC is the integration of the control electronics into the engine control unit (ECU). The paper describes the consequences of such an integration for the ECU hardware and software. Special attention is given to the ETC related safety aspects. Another chapter discusses different technologies for the throttle actuator drive. This is followed by a brief description of a suitable control strategy for a throttle actuator. Finally the paper gives also an overview about current status and development trends of accelerator pedal sensors necessary for ETC.