Secure motorcycle companion

Abstract

Motorcycle crashes in Uganda frequently involve riders who are not wearing the helmet and who receive delayed assistance. The Secure Motorcycle Companion (SMC) tackles both problems with a three-part solution: a smart helmet that verifies it is being worn, an on-bike control unit that locks or unlocks the ignition and handles mobile-network messaging, and a cloud dashboard that records incidents and presents live maps and safety analytics. When a fall is recognised, the system cuts the engine, captures the rider’s location, and automatically alerts the chosen emergency contact while sending the same data to an online channel that feeds the web dashboard. Administrators can view incidents, generate reports, and update emergency contacts from any modern browser; those updates are sent back to the motorcycle during its next data session. The project was developed with open-source toolchains, version-controlled on GitHub, and passed a full suite of unit, integration, performance, usability, and security tests that demonstrated reliable crash detection, rapid alert delivery, and stable operation across common road and weather conditions. SMC therefore offers a practical, low-cost way to enforce helmet compliance, provide instant accident notifications, and give fleet managers clear insights into rider safety. Planned enhancements include broader network options, encrypted over-the-air updates, and smarter filtering of false alerts.