Honda Motor Co Ltd plans to sell 100 of its flagship Legend sedan packed with its Sensing Elite autonomous driving features with level 3 autonomous driving technology (conditional automated driving in a limited area). Legend’s level 3 Traffic Jam Pilot allows a driver to navigate congested traffic jams. One can opt to navigate using a screen or watch movies when stuck in a jam. It helps to mitigate fatigue and stress when driving in a traffic jam, Honda said in a statement.
The Legend’s Traffic Jam Pilot system can control acceleration, braking and steering under certain conditions. The system drives, stops, resumes driving within the same lane while maintaining a proper following distance in accordance with the speed of the vehicle in front. While the vehicle is under the control of the system, the driver can watch television/DVD on the navigation screen or operate the navigation system to search for a destination address.
In case the driver does not respond to the system’s handover requests, the Traffic Jam Pilot/Hands-off Function will be disengaged, the system further urges the driver to respond to the handover request using visual, auditory and tactile alerts, including escalated alarm sounds and vibration on the driver’s seatbelt. It will also alert other vehicles around using hazard lights and the horn, according to a statement from the company.
The Japanese automaker’s plan to sell 100 of the vehicles with the advanced technology would represent a significant step towards its goal of being the first company to mass-produce a car with level 3 technology.
The human-machine interface is easy When the Hands-off Function is activated, the indicator light on the steering wheel comes on, and when Traffic Jam Pilot is activated, other indicator lights also come on with a blue light.
When the system requests the handover, all indicator lights change their color to orange and blink to send an easy-to-understand message to the driver. The large 12.3-inch, full-LCD meter also displays the operating status of the system, driving situation and the handover requests. The Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT)T awarded a safety certification to Honda’s “Traffic Jam Pilot” in November.
The limited-edition Legend is available only for lease sales. Legend will be sold from Friday in Japan at a retail price of 11 million yen ($103,000), Honda said.
Google’s Waymo and Tesla’s TSLA.O are the other models that are still experimenting with autonomous driving. Different regulations govern autonomous vehicles in different countries, which means that stringent safety norms must be met before they are allowed on to the roads.Audi unveiled an A8 sedan with level 3 technology in 2017, but regulatory hurdles have prevented it from being widely introduced.
The limited-edition Legend will be sold from Friday in Japan at a retail price of 11 million yen ($103,000), Honda said.
