BMW is developing a gimbal-headlight!

-Patent for gimbal-mounted headlight filed

-LED headlight mounted on three-axis gimbal

-Keeps the beam steady as the bike leans or pitches

The technologies that keep cropping up in the motorcycle industry can be pretty interesting and following the introduction of cornering lights in motorcycles such as the BMW GS, the company is now working on a new gimbal-mounted LED headlight for its future motorcycles.

In the latest patents filed by the company, one can see an LED headlight mounted on a three-axis gimbal. If you are even remotely familiar with gimbals used in videography, including the ones used in smartphones you’d know how a gimbal keeps the camera stable, even when one is running with the entire setup. Think of the BMW gimbal headlight to follow a similar principle.

What the BMW system does is keep the LED headlight stable as the bike leans into corners or pitches, say under heavy braking. It would also compensate for the times when the bike squats a little under the load of a pillion or luggage. Besides this, the headlight can also physically turn and point the beam towards the corner, thereby improving the safety quotient.

This whole system is controlled by an Inertial Measurement Unit or IMU, the kind that also governs other safety aspects of bikes such as cornering traction control and cornering ABS. What’s also intriguing is the presence of a camera inside the system that is said to aid beam direction.

The entire gimbal-headlight setup is quite interesting and if all goes well, we could see the system feature in future BMW production motorcycles, perhaps starting with the GS.

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