Hitachi Rolls Out a Suite of Self-Driving Technologies

Hitachi Automotive Systems Ltd. is touting a collection of automatic driving features it intends to begin marketing to carmakers in 2016, Automotive News reports.

The Tokyo-based company tells reporters its strategy is to leverage existing products into packages that offer additional capabilities that can be easily adapted to many vehicle platforms. Most packages involve multiple cameras and mechanical actuators.

Among the systems Hitachi is showing are advanced forms of adaptive cruise control, automatic pre-crash braking, vehicle self-parking and stability control.

Hitachi's adaptive cruise control system, for example, uses stereo cameras and special software to detect curves, calculate steering angles and adjust speed accordingly to provide smoother vehicle dynamics into and out of the turn.

The company's self-parking system uses four cameras to detect the vehicle's immediate surroundings, including pedestrians and other objects that may enter its path. The system handles steering, acceleration and braking automatically to negotiate parallel and perpendicular parking maneuvers.

Hitachi's pre-crash braking system employs a forward-looking camera on the windshield, four fisheye cameras, a head-up display and steering/brake actuators to detect and respond automatically to near and distance objects.

CEO Kunihiko Ohnuma tells reporters the new systems will help the company increase global sales 12% to 1 trillion yen ($9.4 billion) in the fiscal year beginning April 2015.