Honda shows off
self-driving cars at new Calif testing facility
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[June 02, 2016]
By Alexandria Sage
CONCORD, Calif (Reuters) - Honda Motor
Co gave a sneak preview of its self-driving prototypes on Wednesday,
saying it was already on its way to offering semi-autonomous safety
functions to the mass market.
The Japanese automaker has been less vocal about its plans for
self-driving cars than larger rivals like Toyota and General Motors,
which in recent months have shown off major research and development
projects and big-ticket acquisitions.
But under the radar, Honda has been building semi-autonomous
functionality, including forward-collision warning, lane- departure
warning and lane-keeping assist. These features are already being
rolled out in Honda's Acuras and the Civic model year 2016, which
costs about $22,000.
"We under-promise and over-deliver as a promise, as a company. There
are a lot of promises talked about by a lot of companies," said Jim
Keller, chief engineer for Honda Research and Development Americas,
referring to the pervasive industry hype.
With the current roll-out of semi-autonomous functions, which it
says will pave the way for full autonomy on highways by 2020, Honda
says it differs from rivals, whose self-driving efforts have
centered on their luxury models.
"This is a unique differentiator for Honda ... who is committed to
the concept of safety for everyone," said Keller. "Unless we
democratize it across our lineup it will be just a niche."
Honda showed off two prototypes it has used in testing at the GoMentum Station,
a 5,000-acre former naval munitions zone that features 20 miles of paved
roadway, tunnels and other infrastructure ideal for testing.
On Wednesday, reporters saw the cars accelerate, stop and cede the way for
pedestrians, and turn in autonomous mode.
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An autonomous version of Acura's RLX Sport Hybrid SH-AWD is pictured
during a media tour of carmaker Honda's testing grounds at the
GoMentum Station autonomous vehicle test facility in Concord,
California June 1, 2016. REUTERS/Noah Berger
The site in Concord, California, about 30 miles northeast of San Francisco,
hopes to lure other carmakers to test autonomous cars there. Besides Honda, the
French maker of driverless shuttles, Easy Mile, also tests there.
The auto industry has been marked by a series of high-profile investments and
acquisitions related to autonomous driving in recent months. General Motors in
January bought autonomous vehicle technology start-up Cruise Automation for a
reported $1 billion, while Toyota has committed to spending $1 billion over five
years to develop technologies behind the self-driving car.
(Reporting by Alexandria Sage; Editing by Leslie Adler)
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