Since the 1930s, Hitachi has been supplying key components, control technologies, and systems that make vehicles that are safe, comfortable, and reduce environmental load. Hitachi will continue contributing to the development of a car society by combining cutting-edge expertise such as the IoT.
In presenting a broad view of the future of mobility and cars, this issue reports on Hitachi’s progress on developing technologies for autonomous driving and the environment.
Stephan Keese, a Senior Partner at Roland Berger’s Chicago office, reports on the four trends that are disrupting the automotive industry, covering subjects that include future mobility scenarios and the impact of autonomous driving and connected mobility on consumers, society, and logistics.
Developing ways to measure and evaluate the safety and reliability of automated vehicles will be essential for a rapid transition in autonomous driving. Mcity is developing accelerated evaluation procedures as an alternative to conventional field testing, which is expensive in terms of both time and money. The Director of Mcity and an up-and-coming research scientist present an overview of the development work.
As the automotive industry goes through what has been described as the greatest period of change in 100 years, vehicle manufacturers around the world are working on electrification, with competition accelerating around development for autonomous driving and connectivity. Hideaki Seki, President & CEO of Hitachi Automotive Systems, Ltd., discusses how Hitachi can bring its strengths to bear amid changes.
With its aim of achieving optimal control of all aspects of transportation systems, the field of smart mobility plays a key role in creating a “Super Smart Society,” a sophisticated fusion of the cyber and physical worlds centered on humans. What follows is a wide-ranging discussion about the future of mobility by three men from Hitachi who are involved in the automotive industry and vehicle-related industries.
When developing vehicle technologies, Hitachi seeks to balance the four user values of safety, comfort, environmental performance, and time. The keys to achieving this are to anticipate trends in technology and to respond accurately to customer needs. In this article, we hear from key people at Hitachi about the key initiatives being undertaken to achieve this.
Along with numerous demonstration projects in Europe aimed at achieving automated driving in which government agencies are playing a central role, a variety of joint industry-government-academia projects are also underway. Meanwhile, individual nations also face their own particular challenges as a result of their respective traffic rules and different social and natural environments. John Conlon, who works on the frontline managing development activities at Hitachi’s European operations, reports on the different circumstances in each country and the projects in which Hitachi is involved.
With the reduction of automobile accidents being an important concern for the motoring public, there has been a lot of activity surrounding the development of preventive safety techniques that assist driving to avoid accidents. As the next step in this process, automotive manufacturers and suppliers have, in recent years, accelerated the research and development of technologies for autonomous driving that further develop driver assistance systems to the point where they can take over from the human driver.
Systems for autonomous driving are complex, involving the processing and analysis of large amounts of data, including sensing information obtained from the surrounding environment, and a wide variety of technologies such as for information links to data centers and other infrastructure. To expedite the implementation of autonomous driving systems, Hitachi is working with its group companies on technology development to help overcome challenges faced by society.
In 2016, the Paris Agreement that was enacted specified international targets for reducing greenhouse gases (CO2). In this context, proposals for preserving the global environment include next-generation vehicles such as electric and hybrid electric vehicles, improving the fuel economy of vehicles themselves through lighter designs and other measures, using alternative fuels, and improving traffic flows.
Hitachi is developing and expanding CO2 reduction systems based on high-efficiency engines, high-efficiency electric systems, and energy management, as well as core technologies that support higher quality products. In addition, group companies are collaborating to develop various products based on metallic, magnetic, and lightweight materials, and processing and evaluation technologies, as well as to develop analysis and modeling technologies.
Hitachi will continue to comprehensively utilize technologies, starting from core and material technologies, and extending to system construction, to develop technologies that are compatible with environmental regulations and contribute to preserving the global environment.
