No. 765: Fuji Heavy’s automatic braking system is growing more sophisticated (September 3, 2013)

Technology:

The in-car stereo cameras

Eye Sight developed by Fuji Heavy is the front runner in the development of an automatic braking system. The high performance stereo cameras built in a vehicle detect a pedestrian and an obstacle on the road. Fuji Heavy, the maker of Subaru cars, introduced the Eye Sight in 2010, and it remains the front runner in the development of an automatic braking system. Eye Sight is enjoying a high popularity among consumers, and 90% of purchasers of a Subaru car prefer a model with the Eye Sight despite the fact that they have to pay about 100,000 yen more.  

The in-car computer asks the engine and brake to decelerate and stop the vehicle. The time required to complete the actions to stop the vehicle is three seconds. If a vehicle is traveling at less than 30 km/h, the three seconds is enough to stop the vehicle before a collision. Eye Sight is a strong weapon to prevent a collision if a vehicle is travelling at low-speed on a highly-traveled road. Fuji Heavy is developing a new system to prevent a collision even if a vehicle is running at 60 km/h. The new system is scheduled to be launched in 2014 at the earliest. For the development of the new system, it is critical to improve the image processing technology that analyzes the camera’s field of view by dividing it into about 8,000 parts.

 Driving an Eye Sight loaded Subaru 

on a higly-traveled road