The growing popularity of e-scooters is unfortunately accompanied by an increasing number of accidents and injuries. To improve the safety properties of this new type of vehicles, a braking assistance system is outlined in this study. Based on a simulation model of e-scooter, tyre–road contact, and human rider body, strategies are investigated to achieve minimal stopping distances while maintaining a stable driving condition. Effects of the actual tyre–road friction conditions and the standing position of the rider on optimised distributions of front and rear braking forces are analysed. Estimation methods for the tyre–road friction potential as well as the inertial parameters of the combined vehicle–rider system are gradually included, and the respective model parameters and input signals are derived from an instrumented e-scooter.

The tyre-road contact is the only connection of a motorcycle with the ground and has therefore a decisive influence on its longitudinal and lateral dynamics. Due to this fact, knowledge of the tyre-road friction potential can contribute to performance improvements of motorcycle dynamic control systems. Although this research topic has been covered extensively, they refer almost exclusively to two-track vehicles. Therefore, a grip potential estimator for a motorcycle, based on an extended Kalman-Filter (EKF) will be used to discuss its potential with regard to the required excitation level and estimation time. These findings will be verified with actual test runs by this year’s summer. Another objective of these tests is to determine the tyre characteristics for different road conditions.