Honda Motor Co. announced it will soon mass-produce sensor-packed Level 3 autonomous cars that will allow drivers to let their vehicles navigate congested expressway traffic.
“Honda is planning to launch sales of a Honda Legend (luxury sedan) equipped with the newly approved automated driving equipment” before the end of March 2021, Honda said in a press release.
Japan’s government earlier in the day awarded a safety certification to Honda’s autonomous “Traffic Jam Pilot” driving technology, which legally allow drivers to take their eyes off the road. Honda received the required type designation for Level 3 automated driving from the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT). This approval enables the automated driving system to drive the vehicle instead of the driver under certain conditions, such as when the vehicle is in congested traffic on expressway.
Currently available Level 2 cars on public roads can control their own speed and steering, but must have an alert driver able to take control at all times.
Each level of vehicle autonomy must abide by key safety standards for automated equipment for performance and operating condition recording devices. In addition, automakers must affix a sticker on the backside of the vehicle body indicating that it is an automated vehicle.
