More than half of fatalities in traffic accidents in Japan are
the vulnerable parties in such accidents (pedestrians, motorcycles,
bicycles). In most of these accidents, the cause is collision
involving automobiles. Therefore, reasoning that early detection of
such vulnerable parties would lead to a reduction in accidents, we
conducted research on the following three systems:
- Honda Night Vision System - For night-time detection of
pedestrians using infrared cameras.
- Active Headlights - For assuring night-time field of vision by
directing illumination in the direction of vehicle travel through
lights coupled with steering wheel turn and so on.
- Inter-Vehicle Motorcycle-Automobile Communication System
(IVCS) - Notifies drivers of each other's presence by providing
information through communications systems installed on both
vehicles.
The results from research on these systems show that their use
can be expected to have a positive effect in reducing the
occurrence of accidents.
These systems have been installed on experimental vehicles under
the Advanced Safety Vehicle Project Phase 2 (ASV-2). This project
was proposed by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport
of Japan and is being participated in by thirteen domestic
automobile manufacturers.