Honda readying more advanced safety tech

HONDA has released details of its more advanced Honda Sensing 360+ omnidirectional safety and driver-assistance system, which will debut in the Chinese market Accord medium sedan from next year.

It is not yet known which model will introduce the technology to Australia, or when.

The technology builds on the current Honda Sensing 360 system available in most Honda models sold globally and offers what the manufacturer says is the ability to “remove blind-spots around the vehicle” while contributing to “collision avoidance and the reduction of driver burden”.

Over those functions already offered, Honda Sensing 360+ features a driver monitoring camera and high-definition maps the car-maker says improve the system’s ability to monitor a driver’s condition and to control the vehicle.

Honda says that by reducing health-related or human-triggered collisions, it can work to achieve its goal of “zero traffic collision fatalities involving Honda motorcycles and automobiles globally by 2050”.

In addition to the driver monitoring camera and high-definition maps, the updated technology includes front and side millimetre-wave radar sensors, front and rear acoustic sensors, a sensor-style front camera, and a steering wheel grip sensor.

Bolstering the level of technology offered by the revised safety technology has allowed Honda to offer a number of new advanced driver assistance and safety systems, including what it calls “Advanced In Lane Driving with Hands-off Capability”.

Designed for freeway use, the system maintains vehicle speed and direction by using the aforementioned sensors and GPS to locate the vehicle’s position. It operates the throttle, brake and steering systems and will track the centre of the lane at a pre-set speed when there is no vehicle ahead, or at a “proper following distance” when a lead vehicle is present.

In turns, the system detects the degree of curvature in the lane in advance and performs deceleration and acceleration respectively to “assist the driver in the way that they can drive with peace of mind”.

Additionally, “Active Lane Change Recommendation” serves to assess whether a lane change is possible with “Hands-off Capability”. Upon assessing the vehicle’s surrounding, the system will notify the driver as to whether a lane change is recommended, the driver confirming the manoeuvre by pushing a button on the steering wheel.

In navigation mode, Active Lane Change Recommendation can further recommend lane changes necessary to drive toward the destination based upon the route guidance provided by the satellite navigation system. This can be particularly useful in selecting the correct lane for turning at a junction or exit lane, for example.

Yet another component of Honda Sensing 360+ is what Honda refers to as “Predictive Curve Departure Warning”. While approaching or navigating a curve, the system determines if “immediate deceleration is necessary to avoid the risk of a roadway departure”.

Following a visual and audible warning, the system then provides “stronger warnings” before taking measures to “reduce the possibility of a road departure at the curve”, Honda says.

As we have seen from other manufacturers, most notably Audi, the Honda system will also offer Exit Warning to detect when a vehicle is approaching a parked vehicle from the rear and alert occupants of the risk of a collision between the vehicle door and a vehicle passing by. It is not known whether the system is able to detect cyclists at this stage.

Finally, the improved Honda Sensing 360+ system will now offer “Driver Emergency Support System” which assists in the deceleration and stopping of the vehicle in the event the driver becomes incapacitated.

When the driver is unresponsive to the system’s requests to take control, the system escalates an alarm sound before sounding the horn and hazard lights before bringing the vehicle to a stop within its lane. The system connects with the emergency services to help “secure the safety of the driver, occupants, and other road users”.