JTEKT Steers Its Own Course for Autonomous Vehicles

Japan’s JTEKT Corp., which supplies about one-fourth of the steering systems for new vehicles worldwide, says it is developing new technologies for self-driving vehicles.

The company, which is affiliated with Toyota Motor Corp, plans to introduce redundancy and steer-by-wire systems in coming years for semi- and fully autonomous vehicles, President Tetsuo Agata tells Automotive News. "It's the way for us to survive," he asserts.

JTEKT aims to have the back-up steering unit available sometime next year for carmakers to test for automated vehicles systems they’re planning to launch early next decade. No timeframe was given for launching a steer-by-wire system.

Autonomous vehicles need a backup system in case the automated steering system fails, Agata notes. This encompasses provisions for both software and hardware fail-safes—including a second steering motor—that are initiated automatically if there is a malfunction in the main system.

By-wire systems convert steering wheel movements into electronic signals to control electric motors that steer a vehicle’s wheels. Eliminating traditional mechanical linkage and steering wheels—or switching to foldable steering wheels—would provide carmakers with greater cockpit packaging and design, Agata says.