Honda Realizes Automated Driving without Lane Markings

Joso, Ibaraki Pref., Nov. 2 (Jiji Press)--Japan's Honda Motor Co. <7267> said Wednesday that it has developed a set of technologies enabling automated vehicle driving in areas without white lines marking lanes. The technologies include ones to recognize vehicle surroundings based on images captured by cameras, without relying on high-definition maps, and utilizing an artificial intelligence engine developed by Honda. The innovations are expected to be installed in micromobility vehicles that can carry several people. Honda will conduct demonstration testing in Joso, Ibaraki Prefecture, near Tokyo, aiming to put the technologies into practical use around 2030. Vehicle using the AI engine can recognize objects around them, such as intersections, pedestrians and other vehicles, based on information from camera-captured images and judge whether driving is possible. Honda's technologies allow vehicles to travel automatically in areas without lane markings, making it possible for them to pick up users and allow them off in various places flexibly. The automaker expects that the technologies could be used for mobility services for elderly people without their own transportation. The new technologies also include ones enabling a vehicle to communicate with its passengers, recognizing human words and gestures and making its own suggestions. If a user tells the vehicle, "Please stop in front of the vending machine there," the vehicle could make a reply such as "The blue vending machine?" if there are several such machines near the destination, according to Honda. "If vehicles can self-drive in areas without white lanes, they will be used by many residents," Joso Mayor Takeshi Kandatsu said. "Demonstration testing will be conducted at a 'michi no eki' roadside rest station that will open next spring and elsewhere." END