Mitsubishi Electric Readies Driver-Assist Technologies

Mitsubishi Electric Corp. unit is adapting sensor technologies it developed for military applications into systems for automated vehicle functions.  

The company, which is a member of Japan’s Mitsubishi Group, has received orders for automatic emergency brake systems and lane-keeping assist technologies, Bloomberg News reports.

Production of these systems will begin in the fiscal year starting April 2017, Katsumi Adachi, senior chief engineer for Mitsubishi Electric's automotive equipment unit, tells the news service. Automatic parking systems could be added a year later, he adds.

The new driver assist systems use Mitsubishi Electric’s camera, millimeter-wave radar and sonar technologies as well as other sensors. Some of the Mitsubishi technologies are used in missile guidance systems for Japan’s military.

In vehicle applications, the sensors will be teamed with Mitsubishi’s satellite technology to provide location-based functions, Adachi says. The company plans to launch three more satellites in geosynchronous orbit over Japan within three years, according to the Bloomberg report.

Although it trails some other suppliers in launching advanced driver-assist systems, Mitsubishi Electric benefits from its wide range of capabilities, Adachi claims. This includes the company’s sensor expertise and electric power-steering technology.

Adachi expects sales of driver assistance systems will eventually equal or surpass Mitsubishi Electric’s power steering and alternator businesses, but he didn't say when. Adachi concedes there’s a “long way to go” with a lot of challenges ahead.