Honda to expand Sensing safety tech

HONDA has revealed plans to expand its Honda Sensing safety technologies by adopting significantly revised driver assistance systems – including a hands-off feature – on all vehicles sold in the United States by the end of this decade.

As yet, there is no word on if or how expansive the roll-out of Honda Sensing 360 technology will be for Australian-delivered models.

The Japanese firm says the technology reflects its vision to cut global traffic fatalities involving its cars by the middle of this century.

Known as Honda Sensing 360, the upgraded safety suite is already being deployed on some models sold in China. It utilises an expanded sensory range around the vehicle (hence ‘360’) that Honda says eliminates blind spots and enhances collision avoidance.

It is expected that the technologies will begin to make their way into vehicles sold within the United States by as early as next year.

Honda said the expanded safety suite features technologies derived from its development of Level 3 autonomous driving technology, which is part of Honda’s Sensing Elite package that debuted on the Japan-only Legend large sedan.

The flagship system uses artificial intelligence to accumulate data and increase the vehicle’s capability to recognise complex environments. The system is said to operate seamlessly in both urban and highway situations.

As the latest development of a system Honda premiered in 2015, Honda Sensing 360 is said to “leverage a more sophisticated collision mitigation braking system that can detect pedestrians and other vehicles coming from multiple directions at an intersection”. 

Simultaneously, the technology can also interpret and react to front cross-traffic scenarios and monitor lane changing manoeuvres with in-built lane-change collision mitigation.

Additionally, the technology provides an advanced version of Honda’s in-lane driving technology with a hands-off function that operates in conjunction with the vehicle’s adaptive cruise control and lane centring systems while allowing drivers to remove their hands from the wheel.

Honda says that under certain conditions, the system will even allow the vehicle to change lanes without driver input.

The system also includes an array of sensors to detect the driver's attention and a collision warning system that scans for “inattention or careless driving”.

It will also reduce the speed of the vehicle if it detects pedestrians, cyclists or vehicles that could enter the vehicle’s path and apply braking or steering as necessary.