NGK Insulators Ltd. (TYO:5333) announced plans on Oct. 11 to boost annual production capacity for automobile nitrogen oxide (NOx) sensors to 25 million units a year in fiscal 2019. The higher output will be about 40 percent above the current level. The company will invest around 14 billion yen ($125 million) on this project. It...
sensors
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...
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...
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...
U-Shin Electrifies Rear Door Opening and Closing in SUVs
U-Shin Ltd. (TYO:6985) has developed a system to electronically open the rear door of SUVs and other large vehicles. Instead of using a mounted damper, with which the rear door opens and closes manually, the structure developed by U-Shin incorporates a rod-like electrically powered unit that expands and contracts to open and close the rear...
NSK Targets International Market With New Automotive Load Sensor
NSK Ltd. (TYO:6471) has developed an automotive load sensor. Able to measure the load on automobile tires, the new sensor will be marketed by NSK to vehicle manufacturers as a tool for preventing the overloading of compact commercial vehicles. The company will be primarily targeting markets outside of Japan. In addition to preventing overloading in...
NGK Spark Plug to Build New Thai Plant for Automotive Sensors
NGK Spark Plug Co. Ltd. (TYO:5334) has announced that it will build a new plant in Thailand to manufacture automotive sensors. Among these will be zirconia sensors, which detect oxygen concentration in exhaust gas. The new plant will be built on a site adjacent to NGK Spark Plug’s existing plant in Thailand, with investment in...
Schaeffler Develops Sensor Coating Technology for 3D Surfaces
Schaeffler Technologies AG & Co. KG has developed a coating technology called Sensotect, which makes it possible to add sensor functions to objects with three-dimensional surfaces. The technology involves coating parts with sensor circuitry 2–3 microns thick, enabling detection of factors such as weight, vibration and heat. Used on automotive wheel bearings, the coating can...
Denso Develops World’s First Sensor to Measure Air/Fuel Ratio, NOx Levels
Denso Corp. (TYO:6902) has commercialized the world’s first compound sensor with the ability to detect both nitrogen oxide (NOx) levels and air/fuel (A/F) ratio. Combining the sensor functions into a single unit greatly reduces total cost and the space required to build the unit into vehicle exhaust system components. The compound sensor will initially be...
NTN Boosts Next-Generation Vehicle Sensor Accuracy
NTN Corp. (TYO:6472) plans to expand its lineup of automotive sensors for self-driving and other next-generation vehicles. The company has developed technology that increases the resolution of wheel speed sensors by up to 40 times that of existing products on the market by enhancing the sensing method and magnetic encoders. This enhanced detection capability will...
Koito to Collaborate With US Company on New Headlight Design
Koito Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (TYO:7276) and U.S.-based Quanergy Systems Inc., a provider of sensor software, have announced that the two companies will work together on a conceptual design for automotive headlights that will employ LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) laser scanner technology. Koito’s automotive headlights will incorporate Quanergy’s solid state LiDAR sensors, which are used...
Denso Develops World’s Smallest Stereo Image Sensor
Denso Corp. (TYO:6902) recently developed the world’s smallest stereo image sensor. The company announced on Dec. 27, 2016, that the sensor will be adopted by Daihatsu Motor Co. Ltd. (TYO:7262) for use in Smart Assist 3, a collision avoidance system. Smart Assist 3 is used in the Tanto, a kei-class light automobile that was released...
Asahi Kasei Develops Infrared Sensor for Non-Contact Measurement of Windscreen Temperature
Asahi Kasei Corp. (TYO:3407) has developed an infrared sensor that enables precise measurement of the surface temperature of automobile windscreens without direct contact. By linking with an air conditioning system, the sensor shortens the operation time of the compressor that keeps front glass from fogging up. The company plans to promote the sensor as a...
