BMW has been at the forefront of developing curve headlight systems for several years and has already introduced various ways to maximize light performance, even when motorcycles lean. The latest idea, revealed in a new patent application, draws inspiration from gimbal systems used in cameras and could pave the way for even more advanced headlight technology.
BMW has already created headlights that can move within their housings to counteract lean and sway. The adaptive Headlight Pro option for curves on the R 1250 GS, for example, allows the low beam to rotate up to 35 degrees in each direction to compensate for lean during turns and corrects lean variations resulting from changes in riding height and load. But the latest patent application takes the idea a step further, connecting the entire headlight unit to a three-axis gimbal that is essentially identical to the systems widely available to keep cameras or smartphones stable during filming.
The first axis allows the headlight to remain level when the motorcycle leans. The second compensates for lean to keep it level from front to back, and the third allows the light to physically rotate towards the apex of a curve, illuminating exactly the part of the road you are heading towards. The entire system is controlled by the same inertial measurement unit (IMU) that is already at the heart of many motorcycles and is used to monitor the lean, sway, and rotation of the machine. Like gimbals used for cameras, the result should be able to keep the headlight eerily stable, even as the rest of the motorcycle moves beneath it.
A BMW has moved away from the idea of physically moving the headlight during turns with the new R 1300 GS. In this machine, the optional Headlight Pro cornering light system uses an LED matrix, turning on and off individual lights to point the beam in the right direction as the motorcycle leans. But there is an additional element in the new patent application that explains the return to a movable headlight unit: there is also a camera mounted inside the light.
