Toyota Motor
Company has unveiled the Automated Highway Driving Assist (AHDA) which uses
automated technology to assist drivers during driving in keeping their cars on
the lane and maintaining the required distance between other vehicles on the
road.
“These
advanced driving support technologies prevent human errors, reduce driving
stress and help drivers avert accidents, which has a big potential to reduce
the number of traffic deaths,” Moritaka Yoshida, Toyota Managing Director said
at a presentation.
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| Img: Toyota |
The AHDA
incorporates two driving technologies in order to achieve this. The first is
the Cooperative-adaptive Cruise Control which communicates with preceding
vehicles wirelessly to maintain the required distance between the two vehicles.
The
Cooperative Cruise Control employs 700MHz band vehicle-to-vehicle ITS
communications to transmit acceleration and deceleration data of preceding
vehicle which allows it to keep a safe distance to the other car by adjusting
its speed.
“Cars with
these technologies recognize the accelerating or slowing speed of those ahead,
which also helps avoid traffic jams,” project manager, Mitsuhisa Shida said.
“They can wirelessly exchange data once every 0.1 seconds.”
The second is
the Lane Trace Control which aids the driver in steering wheel control by
keeping the vehicle within a lane even through bends without much control from
the driver.
This
technology uses high-performance cameras, millimeter-wave radar and control
software to enhance smooth driving line at different speeds. This is achieved
by adjusting the car’s steering angle; driving torque and breaking force when
necessary keep the vehicle on a lane.
Toyota
earlier in January unveiled the advanced active safety research vehicle at the
2013 International CES. The test vehicle was based on the Lexus LS and is being
used for research at Toyota Research Institute of North America in Saline,
Michigan.
The world
largest automobile maker seeks to market this technology (AHDA) in the mid-2010s.
It will start trials of the technology on the Shuto Expressway near Tokyo
metropolitan area by October 15.
What do you
think about this Toyota automated safety technology?
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Toyota unveils assistance for drivers