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Mitsubishi Electric Field Testing xAUTO Autonomous-Driving Test Vehicle
[October 17, 2017]

Mitsubishi Electric Field Testing xAUTO Autonomous-Driving Test Vehicle


Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (TOKYO: 6503) announced today that it has been conducting expressway-based field testing of its xAUTO vehicle and related autonomous-driving technologies for self-sensing and network-based driving, since May 2016. The xAUTO will be exhibited during 45th Tokyo Motor Show 2017 at the Tokyo Big Sight exhibition complex in Tokyo, Japan from October 27 to November 5.

Mitsubishi (News - Alert) Electric named its autonomous driving technologies, Diamond Safety, which have been developed under the concept of "Thinking of people at any time". Mitsubishi Electric's (News - Alert) self-sensing driving technology combines various peripheral-sensing technologies, including a forward-monitoring millimeter-wave radar with wide viewing angle, a forward-monitoring camera and a backward side-monitoring millimeter-wave radar. Its infrastructural driving technology uses high-accuracy 3D mapping in combination with a centimeter-level augmenttion service (CLAS) broadcast from the Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS). Together, Mitsubishi Electric's self-sensing and network-based driving technologies enable autonomous driving with high levels of safety and convenience.



Overview of Field Tests

1) Autonomous driving tests on expressway


Field tests of the xAUTO and its autonomous driving technologies were carried out on two Japanese expressways - the Sanyo (News - Alert) Expressway (Kobe junction to Ako interchange) and the Douo Expressway (Shibetsu Kenbuchi interchange to Fukagawa interchange) for more than 300 hours*. The tests confirmed that Mitsubishi Electric's autonomous driving technologies operate practically under various road conditions, including bad visibility during dense fog and snow.

* Using simulated signals because CLAS from the Quasi-Zenith Satellite System were not yet available.

2) Utilization of CLAS from Quasi-Zenith Satellite System

In the world's first field test of CLAS-based autonomous driving on expressway, which took place on September 19, it was confirmed that this technology has advanced to the practical level. In tunnels and other locations where CLAS reception is difficult, autonomous driving was achieved with high-definition location technology to determine the vehicle's exact position in real time combined with various sensors that monitored the vehicle's motion, and a forward-monitoring camera.

For the full text, please visit: http://www.mitsubishielectric.com/news

xAUTO and Diamond Safety are registered trademarks of Mitsubishi Electric Corporation.


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