Denso Launches Cutting-Edge Advanced Driver Assistance System for Lexus LS & Toyota Mirai

Denso has developed products for Advanced Drive, an advanced driver assistance technology featured on the new Lexus LS and the new Toyota Mirai, which were both recently released in Japan. 

Denso’s newly developed products used in Advanced Drive include:

• LiDAR for detecting the shapes of surrounding vehicles and roads;
• a Locator Telescopic Camera for detecting the environment ahead of the vehicle;
• an Spatial Information Service Electronic Control Unit (SIS ECU) for accurately identifying the position of the vehicle itself; and
• an Advanced Drive System Electronic Control Unit (ADS ECU) and Advanced Drive Extension Electronic Control Unit (ADX ECU) for high-speed processing of information delivered these products.

The SIS ECU, ADS ECU, and ADX ECU also support over-the-air software updates, which expands the functionality and improves performance of Advanced Drive after vehicles are sold to users.

Advanced driver assistance technologies are essential to helping drivers safely operate vehicles in driving scenarios. The products that Denso newly developed support a system, Advanced Drive, which assists driving when driving on an expressway or other motor-vehicle-only roadway.

With the Advanced Drive, by setting the destination in the navigation system, the on-board system will appropriately detect the situation, make decisions, and assist driving under the driver’s supervision according to actual traffic conditions.

It can keep the vehicle in its lane, maintain the distance from other vehicles, navigate a lane split, change lanes, and overtake other vehicles until leaving the roadway for the destination.

With these new products, Denso will contribute to advanced driver assistance technology that gives peace of mind to occupants and improves the safety of vehicles.

LiDAR and the Locator Telescopic Camera are able to detect large areas with high accuracy: both products can detect more than 200 meters ahead of a vehicle.

The performance of Denso’s LiDAR is among the highest in the world. Long-range detection has been attained by increasing the output of the laser beam and the sensitivity of the beam-receiving sensor.

A flat mirror is used for scanning to detect a wider angle. The Locator Telescopic Camera is equipped with two types of cameras, one for short distance and the other for long distance.

It is characterized by a long imaging distance and a large number of pixels, which increases accuracy. The detection angle of the long-distance camera is narrowed to increase the number of pixels, producing clear distant images.

The SIS ECU provides information about the position of one’s own vehicle and the driving course ahead, making it a key part of advanced driver assistance technology.

The new product can obtain accurate information about one’s own vehicle position in combination with position information from high-precision map data, the Global Navigation Satellite System and camera recognition information.

The ADS ECU and ADX ECU rapidly process information from sensors, such as LiDAR and cameras, monitoring the situation around the vehicle.

To make this possible, it is necessary to obtain information from sensors in real time and process it in milliseconds.

The new products have multiple System on Chips and microcomputers that achieve at least double the processing performance compared with conventional in-vehicle ECUs. They play the role of brain that controls the vehicle instead of the driver.

Denso remains committed to developing technology for advanced driver assistance and realizing safe and flexible mobility for all people around the world, including drivers and pedestrians.