Is Honda Working on Self-Driving Cars?

Honda believes that the future of automotive technology starts now. It’s setting its sights on developing a self-driving car that helps prevent accidents, leading to safer roadways across the world. The goal behind Honda’s automated driving and enhanced driver-assistance features is a collision-free society where you and your passengers are safe no matter where your journey takes you.

Honda’s Self-Driving Cars

Image used with permission via HondaNews.com

Honda started focusing on developing enhanced driving technology in 2020 when it received the designation for Level 3 automated driving from the Japanese governing agency. Level 3 vehicles are capable of environmental detection and decision making, allowing them to perform simple tasks such as accelerating past a slow-moving car. However, they still require human override, so you have to stay alert in case you need to take over.

Next, in March 2021, Honda introduced a redesigned Honda Legend that included the Honda SENSING Elite. This suite of enhanced driver-assistance features works in conjunction with traditional driver-assistance technology but has the added bonus of incorporating artificial intelligence. It included the advanced Traffic Jam Assist function, a hands-free driving system that works with adaptive cruise control and lane-keep assistance, allowing the car to drive itself in certain traffic situations. This technology marked the debut of Level 3 autonomy in Honda vehicles.

Current Innovations in Honda’s Automated Driving

While a fully self-driving car isn’t out of the question, Honda has plans to slowly start integrating its new driver-assistance technology into the U.S. market. No cars in America currently have Honda SENSING Elite, but a different version of its driver-assistance technology, known as Honda SENSING 360, is expected to hit the U.S. market by 2030 or sooner. Honda promises to make Honda SENSING 360 standard on all U.S. Hondas by 2030, leaving the door open for a soft introduction ahead of time.

Honda SENSING 360 includes enhanced collision avoidance and blind-spot reduction, keeping you at ease behind the wheel. The system uses radar at the front and on each corner of the vehicle in conjunction with a camera system that expands the field of vision and reduces blind spots. Honda notes that when creating the Honda SENSING 360 suite, it drew heavily from the knowledge it gained while developing Level 3 technology.

Level 3 development and testing involved many real-world tests and computer-generated scenarios. The goal for the Level 3 system and the innovative Traffic Jam Pilot feature was to create a technology that prevents collisions. Honda used statistical analysis from simulated scenarios, analyzing up to 10 million possible patterns, and conducted real-world testing on over 800,000 miles of highways in Japan to determine the system’s effectiveness. The results showed that using Traffic Jam Pilot reduced the overall number of collisions by nearly half.

Understanding Autonomous Driving Levels

As we previously mentioned, Honda’s focus for the past five years has been on developing a Level 3 automated driving system, and it broke new ground with the 2021 Legend Hybrid EX. But what are the levels of automated driving? Let’s take a closer look to see where we’ve been and where we’re heading in the world of self-driving cars.

Level 0

Level 0 cars have no driving automation. All controls for Level 0 vehicles come directly from you as the driver. Any form of technology, including features such as electronic stability control, traction control, and standard cruise control, still requires some form of human input to function. Level 0 is also the classification given to automatic emergency braking and lane-keep assistance because these features only offer warnings and assistance for a short period.

Level 1

The lowest level of automation is when the vehicle is responsible for only one input, such as steering or braking/accelerating, and you’re responsible for making sure it works properly. Many Level 1 features are becoming standard on new vehicles, including driver-assistance technology such as adaptive cruise control and lane-centering assistance.

Level 2

Level 2 means the vehicle can take over for two different forms of input, such as steering and braking/accelerating. These are often called advanced driver-assistance systems and can be found in some cars in the U.S. market. These features enable semiautonomous driving on certain roadways in America, but your hand must still be on the steering wheel.

Level 3

Also known as conditional driving autonomy, Honda has revolutionized Level 3 technology in Japan. These cars are truly self-driving on designated roadways (with a driver ready to take over), and they’ll hopefully be part of the American market soon.

Levels 4 and 5

These vehicles aren’t currently available to any consumers, but they involve a car driving itself without any driver input at all. Level 5 cars might not even have any pedals or steering equipment at all, as the car will drive with no human input whatsoever.

Learn More About Honda’s Newest Technology at Ike Honda

Honda’s focus on creating a self-driving car means that this technology could be within your reach very soon. At Ike Honda in Marion, Illinois, we encourage you to stay up to date with Honda’s innovations so you can be one of the first to explore Level 3 autonomous driving. In the meantime, don’t hesitate to reach out to our team at Ike Honda today to learn about the latest technology currently available on our vehicles.