Visibility provided by the rearview mirrors of motorcycles is regulated by law, and should be measured. Thus far, compliance with legal standards has been checked first by investigation using 2-dimensional CAD, and then manufacturing a prototype motorcycle. However, an issue unique to motorcycles is displacement of the rearview mirror when the rider rides the motorcycle, which affects rearward visibility. This factor hindered sufficient investigation in two dimensions, which delayed determination of the design specifications. Therefore, a simulation system has been developed that uses 3-dimensional CAD, which incorporates a function that automatically sets the legal prerequisites using a combination of the Newton-Raphson method and bisection method. This enabled assessment in the design layout stage, and contributed to early layout maturation.
Article of Honda R&D Technical Review Vol.21 No.1 (144 - 149)