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Automotive

Honda showcases latest intelligent transportation tech at ITS World Congress

By David Szondy
September 11, 2014
Honda showcases latest intelligent transportation tech at ITS World Congress
Honda's booth at the ITS World Congress
Honda's booth at the ITS World Congress
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Medical Emergency Assist using the Vehicle via Vehicle(V2V) "Virtual Tow"
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Medical Emergency Assist using the Vehicle via Vehicle(V2V) "Virtual Tow"
Honda's booth at the ITS World Congress
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Honda's booth at the ITS World Congress

Honda took the occasion of the 2014 ITS World Congress in Detroit to show off some of the company’s latest accomplishments in the field of intelligent transportation. The technologies on display are part of Honda’s goal of a "collision-free society" and "safety for everyone" through assisted driving systems that protect not only the car’s occupants, but pedestrians, cyclists, and others on the road.

According to Honda, the ITS World Congress marks the first demonstration in the United States of Honda’s automated driving technology and the company’s "V2X" technologies, such as Vehicle-to-Pedestrian/Bicycle (V2P/B) and Vehicle-to-Motorcycle (V2M).

Medical Emergency Assist using the Vehicle via Vehicle(V2V) "Virtual Tow"
Medical Emergency Assist using the Vehicle via Vehicle(V2V) "Virtual Tow"

The new technologies demonstrated include:

  • Automated Highway Driving: Using a prescribed 8-mi (12.8-km) loop of motorway in downtown Detroit, visitors to the show experienced Honda’s automated vehicle driving systems, including automatic steering and braking, automated freeway entry, exit, lane change, and others.
  • Vehicle-to-Pedestrian/Bicycle (V2P/B): This Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) system links with a pedestrian or cyclist’s smartphone that has the V2P/B app and warns the driver and the other of a potential accidents. It might even ease motorist/cyclist tensions a bit by allowing the exchange of "courteous messages."
  • Vehicle-to-Motorcycle (V2M): This works in the same way as the V2P/B system, but is geared to the faster speeds and conditions of motorcycling.
  • Vehicle via Vehicle(V2V) "Virtual Tow": This system is for helping other drivers in case they get in distress. With Virtual Tow, the driver in trouble can contact surrounding cars and allows another driver ahead to take control of their car remotely and "tow" it to safety.
  • Lane-level Hazard information plus Automated Lane Change: Perhaps the most ambitious of Honda's technologies, this combines vehicle-to-vehicle and cloud communications with an automatic lane changing system. It uses information from cars down the road to build up an image of upcoming traffic and hazards, which the car can then use to automatically change lanes to avoid potential driving interruptions.

    • "The creation and deployment of advanced, intelligent transportation systems represent the new frontier in the effort to one day eliminate traffic collisions, injuries and fatalities," said Frank Paluch, president of Honda R&D Americas, Inc. "We will demonstrate our vision for realizing Honda's dream of a collision-free society by showcasing our continued technological innovations in active safety, connected and automated vehicle technology."

    Source: Honda

    Tags

    AutomotiveHondaSafetyTrafficCommunicationsTransportDrivingCollisionvehicle-to-vehicle
    2 comments
    David Szondy
    David Szondy
    David Szondy is a playwright, author and journalist based in Seattle, Washington. A retired field archaeologist and university lecturer, he has a background in the history of science, technology, and medicine with a particular emphasis on aerospace, military, and cybernetic subjects. In addition, he is the author of four award-winning plays, a novel, reviews, and a plethora of scholarly works ranging from industrial archaeology to law. David has worked as a feature writer for many international magazines and has been a feature writer for New Atlas since 2011.

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    2 comments
    Mel Tisdale
    The motor industry is a fashion industry. That explains why so many are following the fashion of automated driving. It is possible today to buy GPS jammers on eBay which can leave any vehicle relying on GPS stranded at worst and confused at best. It is even possible to hijack a vehicle's GPS receiver so that it places the vehicle in a completely different location see: https://www.ted.com/talks/todd_humphreys_how_to_fool_a_gps.
    Those simple facts alone will most likely bring to an end this particular fad once the conservative motor industry drags itself into the 21st century and if they don't, there is an elegant sufficiency of other facts waiting in the wings to bring a healthy dose of common-sense into the equation. I just hope that it is not going to take someone's death to bring an end to this idea that cars can be safely automated, unless they are on a dedicated track, isolated from any other road users not equipped with identical equipment. Even then, ice and snow, or floods, are probably going to provide insuperable problems.
    Perhaps the car industry execs would be well advised to watch any of the road crash Youtube compilations filmed by dash-cams. They should ask themselves if they would be happy riding in a self-driving car in many of the circumstance shown. Then ask themselves just what kind of a marketing campaign it is going to take to persuade people to ride in one, let alone actually forking out money for 'pleasure.'.
    It is interesting that the vehicle to pedestrian/bicycle system warns of potential accidents. I would have thought that anything that distracts anyone involved in driving, walking or riding in a road setting is in itself a potential accident.
    As for the Vehicle via Vehicle(V2V) "Virtual Tow" system; well, it is going to take a real world tow rope if the car has broken down and cannot move under its own power.
    As for the Lane-level Hazard information plus Automated Lane Change, refer to the above comments regarding the vulnerability of GPS systems. As an aside, many ships are relying on GPS for navigation. Imagine having the signal jammed in the middle of a busy shipping lane in foggy conditions; scary, or what?
    Bob Flint
    @ Mel, Well spoken, my sentiments exactly, furthermore Honda can dream, but the reality is we will never have every automaker on board, with a standard system that can talk with every type of vehicle, much less bicycles, motorcycles, trucks, etc.
    But wait .....we do have the means in place..... texting from rider to driver and vice versa, oh but that's illegal while the human is driving/riding.