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VOLUME 5, NUMBER 2, JUNE 2001
Technological Advances Lead to Safer Cars
The advent of sophisticated, low-cost microprocessors and other technological advances is making it possible for automakers and their parts suppliers to create new features that make vehicles safer for both drivers and pedestrians. Here’s a rundown of what’s new in the area of automotive safety in Japan:
- Taiheiyo Kogyo—known as Pacific Industrial in the U.S.—has developed a new tire pressure-monitoring system to warn
drivers of unsafe tire conditions. So far, Toyota Motor Co. is the only one to adopt the technology for the run-flat tires it’s putting on the
remodeled Lexus SC430, known as the Soarer.
- Nissan’s newly redesigned Cima luxury car also features a new safety device that helps to keep the car from drifting out of the lane. The system is supported by a camera mounted on the rearview mirror that identifies the lane markers and keeps the vehicle within the lines using a motor to adjust the steering wheel as needed. If the car strays too close to the line, a warning light flashes to alert the driver.
- Mercedes Benz, meanwhile, is now showing S-class sedans equipped with optional radar mounted behind the grill. It helps to maintain safer distances between the car and others.
- Luxury cars aren’t the only models to benefit from this technology. Murata Manufacturing Co., which specializes in electronics, has developed a new radar distance finder small enough to fit in subcompact passenger cars. The company plans to begin mass-producing the high-frequency transmitter module next spring for automakers worldwide.
- In another breakthrough designed to prevent collisions, Toshiba has developed a new image-recognition chip that allows a device to monitor the area around a moving vehicle. The new chip will take signals from a camera that monitors traffic in the vicinity of a vehicle. The images then may be displayed on a screen to let drivers see blind spots. The electronics maker expects to have the device ready for market
next year.
- Jaguar’s new X-Type sedan, which will be available in August, has a built-in sensor that detects the weight of passengers and in the event of a crash determines whether to release airbags and at what speed.
- Toyota Motor Co. has joined Honda Motor Co. in adopting some new design rules that would better protect pedestrians if they were hit by cars. The company plans to review standards for bumper
levels and set them at a height meant to try to protect children, too.
- Honda is now road testing a new active headlight system that steers its beams around corners and into curves to improve drivers’ visual acuity at night.
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