Self-driving cars are often heard in the news.
Development competition is intensifying in the world, but I think there are few people who experience the advancement of technology on a daily basis.
However, in fact, practical use is steadily progressing in places close to our lives.
I have summarized the present and future of automated driving that I can not hear anymore.
Autonomous driving What is that "level"?
Autonomous driving is divided into five stages from level 1 to level 5 depending on the progress of technology.
Level 1 and level 2 functions support the driver's driving like automatic braking, but when it comes to level 3, all operations can be entrusted to the system under certain conditions, so it becomes full-fledged automatic driving. increase.
“Level 3” Progressing Practical Application
Last year, Honda launched the Legend, a passenger car equipped with Level 3 autonomous driving functions.
The system automatically performs all driving operations, such as steering and braking, when the highway is congested or nearly congested and the speed is less than 50 km/h.
In Japan, the law has already been revised assuming that level 3 cars will run, and it will be the first time in the world that a commercial car will run.
In Eiheiji Town, Fukui Prefecture, there is an automatic driving service using a cart-type vehicle, and by embedding equipment called "electromagnetic induction wire" in the road surface of the determined route, it is completely unmanned and about 2 It operates with passengers on a kilometer section.
The world's focus is on "Level 4"
Development is moving to the next stage, "Level 4", which is fully automated driving without a driver.
Among domestic manufacturers, Honda has been conducting driving tests on a test course in Tochigi Prefecture since September last year, and in the mid-2020s, using a vehicle without a driver's seat jointly developed with GM = General Motors, We aim to commercialize our services.
Toyota Motor Corporation is proceeding with research and development with a view to commercializing Level 4 in the first half of the 2020s.
Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. is conducting demonstration tests in Japan in cooperation with telecommunications companies, etc., and a Chinese startup company in which it has invested has begun unmanned autonomous driving experiments on public roads.
On the other hand, overseas, Waymo, a subsidiary of Alphabet, a major IT company in the United States, has started a fully autonomous vehicle dispatch service with limited areas, and Baidu, a major IT company in China, is also developing an autonomous vehicle that utilizes technologies such as AI. increase.
Toward the development of Japan's most advanced "automatic driving with just a car"
Autonomous driving, which is currently being developed in various countries, including Japan, not only requires devices such as radar and sensors, but also communicates with traffic lights and provides detailed road data such as the exact position of lanes. It is necessary to develop various infrastructures such as high-precision maps that are included.
Honda, on the other hand, has started new technology development to realize autonomous driving only with the camera installed in the car, and will embark on a demonstration experiment this month.
The development this time is only for the car camera.
Others are not used.
In other words, it is an approach that tries to realize it, which is completed with "only the car".
How far can a car under development go?
Prior to the demonstration test starting in Joso City, Ibaraki Prefecture, Honda released the state of the car under development to the press.
The small vehicle was equipped with three cameras on the roof, analyzed the boundary between the road and the sidewalk, pedestrians, etc. from the images, and automatically traveled along the road.
On the other hand, the development that can automatically turn right and left at intersections is in the middle stage, so when the person in charge of the car manually pushes the joystick in the direction to turn and instructs the car, After that, the intersection will be automatically driven. It was crooked.
The current technology is so far, but in the future, we are aiming for complete automated driving.
with voice and gesture
In addition, technology under development has also been released that uses a mobile phone to give voice instructions from a remote location, and gestures to a car approaching by automatic driving to indicate the stop position.
In the public demonstration, a man indicates the stopping position of the car with a gesture, and it is recognized by the camera and AI.
While judging the surrounding conditions, such as avoiding pedestrians on the way, go to the designated place.
A method to operate by voice over the phone has also been developed, aiming to make it possible to use a self-driving car “just as easily” with voice and gestures.
"Some people will not have a license in 2040 or 50"
This technology aims to be put into practical use around 2030 at the earliest.
Yuji Yasui, Executive Chief Engineer of Honda R&D Co., Ltd., said, "I want to grow into a smart mobility that is depicted in sci-fi movies, and in 2040 or 2050, the technology will allow people who do not have a license to ride. It will evolve,” he said.