CES: Honda partners with tech innovators

HONDA has partnered up with a number of burgeoning technology companies from around the world to help develop advanced future mobility solutions in areas such as autonomy, HD mapping and GPS localisation.

Revealed at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, the Honda Xcelerator program works with startup companies from Silicon Valley, New York, Canada, Europe, Israel and Singapore to develop next-generation technologies.

Swiss company WayRay is developing holographic augmented reality navigations systems that allow for the greatest field of view on the market and are capable of creating multicoloured virtual objects.

It allows for high-resolution projection at a comfortable distance for driver’s eyes and uses augmented reality to to display real-time indicators for detection of road obstacles and pedestrians, display points of interest and alert the driver to hazards.

Honda is working with WayRay to create a miniaturised head-up display, allowing for deployment in smaller vehicles and improving performance.

New York-based Braiq has combined human preferences and artificial intelligence in order to help autonomous vehicles learn to personalise driving styles.

Using Braiq’s technology, existing interior sensors collect biometric information about passenger comfort and gather data on acceleration, braking, steering and other factors.

The data is used to add a layer of ‘emotional’ intelligence on top of artificial, and to personalise adaptive cruise control, fostering trust in automated driving technology.

Silicon Valley firm DeepMap will provide HD maps and real-time localisation for autonomous vehicles through a cloud-based platform.

The technology enables the creation of 3D maps for level four and five autonomous vehicles, and uses sensors on autonomous vehicle fleets instead of relying on a survey fleet.

Singapore-based DynaOptics will help improve camera performance through high-performing lenses that can offer up to 50 per cent better sight than conventional lenses, especially in situations such as low light or image quality.

Honda and DynaOptics are collaborating to increase light to camera sensors so objects will be more quickly and accurately detected and classified.

GPS specialist Exo Technologies is working with Honda to improve the accuracy of GPS localisation with any additional hardware or base stations being used.

The Tel Aviv-based company works on improving in-car navigation and turn-by-turn directions, and precise positioning for connected and autonomous vehicle applications, at a low cost.

Real-time human body pose sensing is being used by Canadian firm Tactual Labs to facilitate a new user interface that can gauge interactions and user intent.

The technology, which wraps a free-form object in in-air, skeletal and contact sensing, can be used by car and motorcycle users to increase convenience, safety and functionality without the need to ‘look’ for controls or remove hands from the steering wheel.

Honda Innovations CEO Nick Sugimoto encouraged any other potential collaborators to approach the Japanese manufacturer.

“With our Xcelerator partners, Honda will explore technologies that can potentially transform its future products and services, and create new business opportunities,” he said.

“We encourage innovators who share our vision to meet with us at CES 2018.”