Honda has unveiled its Honda SENSING 360 omnidirectional safety and driver-assistive system, and Honda SENSING Elite, an upgraded version of its previous Honda SENSING ADAS platform.
The manufacturer says its current Honda SENSING safety and driver-assistive system is installed on 99% of Honda’s new automobile models sold in Japan and the USA and 86% globally. It added that cumulative sales of vehicles equipped with Honda SENSING now tops 14 million units.
Honda first launched Honda SENSING Elite in 2021 with ‘Traffic Jam Pilot’, an L3 automated driving system that fully controls the vehicle under certain conditions such as when the vehicle is in congested traffic on an expressway. By leveraging know-how amassed through the research and development of Honda SENSING Elite technology, Honda developed the Honda SENSING 360 omnidirectional safety and driver-assistive system, which removes blind spots around the vehicle and contributes to collision avoidance and the reduction of driver burden. The application of Honda SENSING 360 will begin in 2022, starting in China. The Japanese OEM added SENSING 360 will help it to realize new functions to reduce driver burden by detecting abnormal conditions occurring to the driver and vehicle’s surroundings to prevent collisions. These new functions will be added to the current Honda SENSING 360 and applied sequentially on a global basis starting in 2024.
Meanwhile Honda also announced newly developed functions based on the enhanced recognition and understanding technologies achieved by the utilization of Honda’s original AI-enabled Honda SENSING Elite. These new functions will assist the driver in achieving a safe and seamless ride from home to their destination with complete peace of mind on any roads, now including non-expressways.
As for future plans, Honda is striving to equip all of its new automobile models globally with Honda SENSING (including the 360 and Elite variations) with a motorcycle detection function by 2030. Moreover, Honda said it would strive to equip all new models in all major markets with Honda SENSING 360 by 2030, while also continuing to advance Honda SENSING functions. Through these initiatives, Honda is aiming to reduce global traffic collision fatalities involving Honda motorcycles and automobiles by half by 2030; and zero traffic collision fatalities involving Honda motorcycles and automobiles globally by 2050.
HONDA SENSING 360 – NEW FUNCTIONS
Advanced in-lane driving with hands-off function
The system reduces driver burden by operating the accelerator, brake pedal and steering wheel to assist the driver to maintain proper vehicle speed and stay in the lane even while the driver takes their hands off the steering wheel. When there is no car in front of the vehicle, the system drives the vehicle along the middle of the lane while maintaining the pre-set vehicle speed. For turning, the system detects the curvature of the lane in advance and assists the driver in smooth cornering by reducing vehicle speed in accordance with the detected curvature. When there is a car in front, the system assists the driver to follow that vehicle while maintaining a proper following distance.
Advanced lane change with hands-off function
While driving using the Advance In Lane Driving with Hands-off Function, when the driver switches on the Advanced Lane Change with Hands-off Function, the system assesses the situation and assists the lane change and/or passing of the other vehicle under certain conditions. When the system detects a car in front being driven at low speed, the system notifies the driver and then assists in passing and returning to the original lane.
Driver emergency support system
When the driver is unresponsive to the system’s requests for a handover (the transfer of control back to the driver), the system assists deceleration and stopping of the vehicle within the same lane. To be more specific, in case the driver does not respond to the system’s handover requests, the system escalates alarm sounds and urges the driver to respond. If the driver remains unresponsive, the system will assist deceleration and stopping of the vehicle while alerting other vehicles around using hazard lights and the horn in order to keep the driver, occupants and other road users away from the risk of a traffic collision.
Exit warning
While the vehicle is parked, when the system detects a vehicle approaching from the rear, the indicator on the front pillar or side mirror lights up to help occupants to recognize an approaching vehicle. When the system detects the risk of a collision between the vehicle door being opened to get out of the car and other vehicles passing by, an indicator flashes and an audible alarm sounds to alert the occupants.
Driver attention warning and collision warning
The system detects the driver’s condition, and when there is a risk of a collision with a pedestrian, bicycle or vehicle due to diminishing driver attention, such as daydreaming and careless driving, the system reduces the vehicle speed, alerts the driver and assists the steering to keep the vehicle inside the lane.
In-lane collision avoidance assist technology
When there is the risk of a collision with a pedestrian, bicycle or vehicle, and the system determines that there is enough space within the lane traveled by the vehicle to avoid a collision, the system continues reducing the vehicle speed within the lane and assists the driver’s effort to avoid the collision.
Emergency steering support technology
When there is the risk of a collision with a pedestrian, bicycle or vehicle, and when the driver makes a steering operation, the system continues reducing the vehicle speed and assists the steering.
HONDA SENSING ELITE – NEW FUNCTIONS
Honda will accelerate the advancement of Honda SENSING Elite, a flagship variation of Honda SENSING featuring advanced safety technologies. The application of Honda’s original AI, which ‘grows’ while accumulating experiences much like humans, enables the system to increase its capability to recognize complex situations and handle more complex driving environments such as on non-expressways. In this way, Honda will strive to develop technologies that will assist the driver achieve a safe and seamless ride from home to their destination with complete peace of mind on any roads including non-expressways.
To be more specific, Honda will continue making progress in the development of technologies to assist the driver on non-expressways including a hands-off function while driving through a traffic jam on arterial roads; to enable hands-off functions during merging onto and exiting from an expressway at a road junction; and to assist the driver by automatically parking in and driving out of a home garage. Honda will begin applying these technologies sequentially starting in the mid-2020s.
Driver assistance on non-expressways
Honda will realize driver assistance on non-expressway roads by utilizing highly sophisticated recognition and control technologies that can handle a complex traffic environment. To be more specific, Honda will aim to introduce technologies to prevent collisions based on the risk prediction, as well as Adaptive Cruse Control (ACC) and Lane Keeping Assist System (LKAS) for non-expressway roads to reduce driver burden, and the hands-off function while driving in a traffic jam on arterial roads.
Automatic parking assist
Honda Sensing Elite now offers a function to automatically park in and drive out of the garage of a single-family home or pre-assigned parking spot in a residential garage complex. In the future, Honda will strive to realize an “automated valet parking” function which will enable the customers to hail or get off their vehicle anywhere they go, in addition to their home.
Driver assistance for all expressway driving situations
In addition to existing lane keeping, lane changing and Traffic Jam Pilot functions, Honda SENSING Elite now features a driver-assistive function for merging onto and exiting an expressway.
