Honda said it is targeting the year 2025 for the introduction of vehicles with highly automated driving capability in most driving situations (SAE Level 4).
The new goal builds upon earlier-announced plans for Honda and Acura vehicles to have highly automated freeway-driving capability (SAE Level 3) by 2020, the automaker said.
“These are critical steps in Honda’s commitment to contribute to a collision-free society,” Honda asserted in a news release.’
Honda President and CEO Takahiro Hachigo made the announcement at a media briefing held at Honda R&D Co. in Japan. During the briefing, reporters were able to test-drive Honda automated vehicle technologies, including systems with advanced artificial intelligence.
“We will strive to achieve the technological establishment of Level 4 automated driving for personal car use by around 2025,” Hachigo said. “We are striving to provide our customers with a sense of confidence and trust by offering automated driving that will keep vehicles away from any dangerous situation and that will not make people around the vehicle feel unsafe.”
Honda conducted the driving demonstration on a closed test course using a vehicle equipped with multiple cameras, five LIDAR and five radar sensors. The test drive showed the capability for automated driving on a multi-lane freeway in the presence of traffic.
A second driving scenario, simulating a common urban driving experience, was conducted using the latest generation of Honda artificial intelligence with deep learning capability. Equipped with camera sensors only, Honda’s artificial intelligence with deep learning can sense and respond to complex driving environments and situations such as roads without proper lane markings, according to the automaker.
The system also can detect pedestrians and bicyclists at night with only partial visibility. Through the accumulation of experience – using advanced artificial intelligence – the system can improve its ability to predict an outcome and take appropriate action.
The SAE defines automated driving based on six levels of capability, from zero to five. SAE Level 4 or “high automation” means the vehicle can handle all driving tasks in most driving situations, with possible exceptions including inclement weather conditions or unusual driving environments, where the driver would be required to resume control.
Honda said its Honda Sensing and AcuraWatch driver-assistance systems “serve as both a perceptual and technological bridge to the highly automated vehicles of the future.”
Nearly 500,000 Honda and Acura vehicles on U.S. roads today are equipped with these technologies, which include autonomous emergency braking via the collision mitigation braking system; lane-keeping assist; road-departure mitigation; and adaptive cruise control.
Today, approximately one-third of new Honda models sold are equipped with Honda Sensing, while more than 70 percent of Acura models sold are equipped with AcuraWatch, according to Honda.
