Mitsubishi Electric Corp. (TYO:6503) held a test ride event on Oct. 17 at a test course in Ako, Hyogo Prefecture, to showcase to the media its xAuto autonomous vehicle, an experimental car equipped with both self-sensing and infrastructural driving technologies. Mitsubishi Electric has been running verification tests of the vehicle on expressways since May 2016....
autonomous driving
AIST Aims to Reduce Traffic Accidents Caused by Sudden Changes in Driver Condition
Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) is intensifying research on how to reduce traffic accidents by studying sudden changes in a driver’s physical condition. The scope of the research will expand to diseases as the institute collects more data. The end goal is to construct a database manufacturers can apply to...
Nvidia Develops New AI Computer to Support Fully Autonomous Driving
U.S. company Nvidia Corp. has developed a new AI computer that will contribute to the practical realization of fully autonomous driving. Codenamed Pegasus, the computer supports completely self-driving Level 5 autonomous vehicles, and can make over 320 trillion calculations per second. Nvidia says the new computer demonstrates performance more than 10 times that of its...
Denso to Produce Parts for Hybrid and Autonomous Cars at US Factory
Denso Corp. (TYO:6902) has announced that it will invest about 100 billion yen ($889.7 million) in its production base located in the U.S. state of Tennessee by 2020. The base will produce sensor components for autonomous driving and inverters for hybrid vehicles (HVs), a first for the company in terms of overseas operations. As part...
MLIT Adopts International Standards on Automatic Steering Technology
Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) announced on Oct. 10 that it has adopted new international standards on automatic steering technology. This will involve placing rules on the implementation of lane departure warning systems and similar features. The MLIT is taking these rules from Regulation 79, a set of standards covering automatic...
Continental Begins Autonomous Vehicle Test Runs
German-based Continental AG is accelerating its development of technology for autonomous driving systems. At the company’s facilities in Frankfurt, test runs of the CUbE driverless vehicle developed with proprietary technology began this past May. Continental hopes these tests will provide an understanding of the basic technical requirements for an unmanned driving system so it can...
Nidec Integrates Motor and ECU in New EPS System
Nidec Corp. (TYO:6594) recently announced that it has developed an electric power steering (EPS) powerpack system that integrates a motor and electronic control unit (ECU). The product combines Nidec’s motor technology with Kawasaki-based Nidec Elesys Corp.’s ECU technology. Production is already underway. The EPS powerpack system has been reduced in size and weight through the...
KDDI Research and Hokkaido University Develop AI for Overcoming Obstacles to Autonomous Driving
KDDI Research Inc. and the Harmonic Engineering Laboratory at Hokkaido University’s Graduate School of Information Science and Technology announced on Oct. 2 that they have successfully developed an AI technology capable of making necessary concessions in scenarios that have been considered difficult for autonomous driving. Now when faced with roundabouts and other such circumstances, a...
Toyota White Paper Anticipates New Demand for Autonomous Driving – Part 2
Toyota Motor Corp. (TYO:7203) is currently engaged in the parallel development of two autonomous driving technologies: Chauffeur and Guardian. The former of these refers to complete vehicle autonomy, while the latter describes a set of advanced driver assistance and safety features. Toyota terms the philosophy behind the Japanese company’s development of autonomous driving technology the...
Toyota White Paper Anticipates New Demand for Autonomous Driving – Part 1
Toyota Research Institute Inc. (TRI), a U.S.-based subsidiary of Toyota Motor Corp. (TYO:7203), released a white paper on autonomous driving on Sept. 27. The document summarizes the company’s R&D stance on, and progress toward developing, autonomous driving technology. Although the white paper focuses on matters Toyota regularly addresses in public, ordered by their importance to...
JobsOhio Managing Director Discusses Influx of Auto Companies – Part 2
As the automotive industry continues to advance its technology and move toward electrification, efforts to draw business include a new facility, set to open next spring, which will allow companies to run cutting-edge tests on autonomous driving and connected car technology. Japan Automotive Daily sat down for an interview with Kristi Tanner, senior managing director...
Omron Develops Onboard Driver Monitoring Sensor
Omron Corp. (TYO:6645) said that it has developed an onboard driver monitoring sensor for use in self-driving vehicles, eying commercialization by 2020. Using a camera to capture the manner in which the driver’s eyes are opening and closing, his or her line of sight and facial direction, the sensor makes judgments on whether conditions allow...
Subaru to Revamp Stereo Camera for Use in Multi-Lane Autonomous Driving
Subaru Corp. (TYO:7270) has announced that it will adopt a new stereo camera for its autonomous driving technology for multi-lane expressways. In addition to improved angle of view, recognition distance and resolution, the product will enable faster control unit processing speed. The company aims for commercialization by 2020. The Japanese automaker plans to construct a...
JobsOhio Managing Director Discusses Influx of Auto Companies – Part 1
Located on the outskirts of the U.S. rust belt, the state of Ohio is actively working to become an attractive location for automotive companies, with state officials hoping that the establishment of new factories will bring long-term jobs. As the automotive industry continues to advance its technology and move toward electrification, efforts to draw business...
Pioneer to Start Shipping MEMS-Type 3D-LiDAR Samples for Level 3 Autonomous Driving
Pioneer Corp. (TYO:6773) announced on Sep. 7 that it will start supplying samples of its 3D-LiDAR driving space sensor to automakers and information and communications technology (ICT) related companies in Japan and overseas from late this month. Utilizing micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) mirrors, the product samples will be installed in vehicles capable of Level 3 autonomous...
Nissan Unveils Next-Gen Leaf With ProPilot Self-Driving Technology
Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. (TYO:7201) on Sept. 6 unveiled a full redesign of the company’s Nissan Leaf electric vehicle (EV). The new model is fitted with ProPilot, Nissan’s autonomous driving technology for use in single-lane traffic on highways. ProPilot Park, a new addition to the technology, will allow for automatic parking. Nissan has also increased...
MLIT Begins Trial Program for Self-Driving Bus Service at Roadside Rest Areas
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) began trialing a self-driving bus service based at a Tochigi Prefecture roadside rest area on Sept. 2. This comes as a move to use autonomous driving technology in securing the flow of people and goods through mountainous regions, where populations are rapidly aging. Through the trial...
Continental and Magna International Complete First Border-Crossing Autonomous Driving Test
Continental AG and Magna International Inc. recently announced the completion of an autonomous driving test run over 480 kilometers of public roads in Michigan, U.S., and Ontario, Canada. Running across the U.S. and Canada, the test marked the first ever cross-border autonomous driving experiment, and was conducted using a Cadillac ATS and a Chrysler 300....
With FCA on Board, BMW Group’s Self-Driving Partnership Could Be Leading Player
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) announced on August 16 that it is joining the BMW Group and Mobileye in the development of an autonomous driving platform. The participation of FCA and a growing number of major suppliers could allow the alliance to take the industry lead in the development of self-driving cars. BMW, Mobileye and FCA...
NPA Deliberates on Secondary Tasks During Autonomous Driving
Japan’s National Police Agency (NPA) has initiated deliberations on autonomous driving, covering such topics as recognition of non-driving tasks during autonomous driving. By the end of the current fiscal year, the NPA hopes to establish some direction for policy. The Japanese government has a goal of making Level 3 autonomous driving feasible by 2020. At...
Denso Advances Development of Semiconductors for Self-Driving Cars
Denso Corp. (TYO:6902) is accelerating its development of semiconductors for perception, judgment and control functionality in self-driving cars. The company is working on a semiconductor that uses sensor data to enable a level of perception on par with that of humans and another that allows for human-level snap decisions. The former, which is targeted for...
ARM Survey: Many Remain Skeptical About Autonomous Driving
A recent survey conducted by major semiconductor manufacturer ARM Holdings plc has found that 45 percent of 4,000 respondents across the U.S., Europe and the Asia-Pacific region are skeptical of current AI-enabled autonomous driving technology. However, the survey found also that interest in the technology is growing, especially in Asia, and that two-thirds of respondents...
ZF Looks to Bolster Engineer Base for Development of Advanced Safety Technologies
German-based ZF Friedrichshafen AG’s Japanese branch, ZF Japan Co. Ltd., will expand its recruitment of engineers in the field of advanced safety product development, with plans to hire up to 120 new engineers by the end of 2017. The company is strengthening its development regime for safety technology, including that for next-generation cars, in its...
Honda Turns to Continental as Sole Parts Provider for New Driver Assist System
Honda Motor Co. Ltd. (TYO:7267) will adopt a system from Germany’s Continental AG for its expressway autonomous driving technology to go into commercial use in 2020. The Japanese automaker is aiming to gain a competitive edge in the competitive development of autonomous driving technology by procuring parts from Continental, which has extensive know-how in this...
Autonomous Bus Investigation Committee Offers Tokyo Test Rides of Navya Arma Shuttle
The Autonomous Bus Investigation Committee is holding a test ride event for the Navya Arma self-driving shuttle bus at Prince Park in Tokyo’s Minato Ward. The event began on July 18 with a demonstration of the bus’s features to media outlets. This was followed later that day by the opening of public test rides, which...
Nvidia and Baidu to Collaborate on Autonomous Driving
U.S. company Nvidia Corp. recently announced that it will work with China’s Baidu Inc. to utilize AI in a variety of fields, including autonomous driving and the establishment of cloud data centers. The companies will offer a deep learning platform using Nvidia’s next-generation GPUs and Baidu’s cloud. Furthermore, Nvidia’s AI platform Drive PX will be...
Infineon Eyes Further Growth in Japan’s Automotive Semiconductor Market
Infineon Technologies Japan KK Vice President Hajime Kambe recently revealed that the company expects its average annual growth rate of domestic automotive sales to reach 11 percent or higher over the next five years. Kambe said that increased orders have resulted from the establishment of a global support system, as well as from auto industry...
Japan Automotive Daily to Host Auto Technology Executive Briefing in Tokyo
The Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun (Japan Automotive Daily) together with IHS Markit will host an automotive technology executive briefing to discuss the role of digital transformation that is shaping the auto industry today. The conference will take place on July 27 in Tokyo and is open to the public for registration. Converged Digital Landscape of Autonomous […]
G7 Transport Ministers Agree to Accelerate Development of Autonomous Driving Technology
Transport ministers from the Group of Seven major advanced economies (G7) have issued a ministerial declaration that includes accelerating the development of autonomous driving technology. While hastening the creation of technical standards under the framework of the United Nations, the working group established under the auspices of the G7 Transport Ministers’ Meeting will continue exchanging...
Hitachi AMS Shifts Focus to Electric Mobility and Autonomous Driving
Hitachi Automotive Systems Ltd. (Hitachi AMS) will start beefing up its operations concerning electric mobility and autonomous driving. The company is looking to win orders from automakers that are supplying or have decided to adopt electric mobility solutions and autonomous driving products. This is all happening as the industry assumes an accelerated spread of electric...
