According to statistics, 1.2 million persons die due to car crashes around the world in a year. Thus the paradigm shift in finding ways to avoid collisions comes as no surprise. Honda has recently unveiled its new system that is capable of reducing the chances of such accidents. This system will be making its way to the market by the end of 2014.
The technology being introduced by Honda ‘senses’ and embeds a plethora of driving aids in order to impart safety and convenience when it comes to driving. The technology works by using ‘millimeter wave radar,’ attached to the car’s radiator grille while a monocular camera is affixed close to the rear view mirror.
The radar allows the car to identify any obstacle on the road including pedestrians and vehicles while the camera ascertains the object’s speed, size or distance from the front. In case of a collision risk, audio and visual warning is issued. If the distance decreases and the driver takes no measurements, the Collision Mitigation Braking System (CMBS) comes into play and automatically applies gentle brakes to warn the driver. When the driver doesn’t pay heed to this either, the system cranks up and brakes hard in an attempt to avoid the collision.
The camera is able to identify objects which are 60 meters ahead and thus compliments the radio waves being used. The system is capable of identifying the car’s surroundings and even the driver’s intentions, as per Honda. The Road Departure Mitigation system works to keep the car in the lane. Its camera ascertains the lane’s boundaries and if the car strays away from the line, the steering wheel vibrates to warn the driver. That is not all, the system can even pull the car back into the lane and upon sensing that the vehicle is about to go astray if the driver has fallen asleep for instance, the system will apply brakes. The camera is also capable of reading road signs and displays them on the dashboard display or the HUD.
Honda will be embedding this technology into the Legend, which is a luxury car that shall be made available by the end of this year in Japan. The model goes on sale in US by a different name: Acura RLX. It is speculated that the technology would be first brought to other cars in Japan before it is sold in US.