Honda Xcelerator, these are the new features the brand will present at CES 2020

Honda Xcelerator, the brand’s open innovation program, has recently unveiled four devices and technologies for CES 2020, and now Honda is following suit by revealing plans to showcase new ideas of its own.

The company’s first innovation is called augmented driving concept and is designed to address the transition to autonomous vehicles. As the company explained, it believes customers will enjoy being freed from the task of driving, but it knows some people will still want to drive themselves.

To accommodate both groups, the augmented driving concept can seamlessly transition from autonomous to semi-autonomous operation. The process is relatively simple, as users press a switch to switch to manual mode. However, Honda says there are more than eight modes between fully autonomous and semi-autonomous operation, and the sensors inside the vehicle “continuously read the user’s intention to switch seamlessly between these modes, creating an instinctive driving experience.”

The augmented driving concept also features a unique steering wheel that allows people to control the vehicle in new ways. As the company explained, the vehicle can be started simply by tapping the steering wheel twice. Users will also be able to pull the steering wheel to reduce speed and push it to accelerate.

The ESMO electric scooter will also arrive in Las Vegas

Honda will also present the US debut of the ESMO electric scooter and will display a mobile power pack. The latter is a portable rechargeable battery with a capacity of at least 1 kWh. When several batteries are used together, they can power electric motorcycles, mobility products and even homes. However, they are more oriented toward the former products, since the batteries are interchangeable and could allow electric motorcycles to be fully recharged by swapping batteries.

The V2X safety system

Last but not least, Honda will showcase its Intelligent Intersection safety system and the latest developments related to its Safe Swarm technology. Using V2X communications technology, the Safe Swarm system allows vehicles to share their location and speed with each other. This information is used to determine the safest course of action to avoid collisions and reduce traffic congestion. Honda has been working on the technology for some time and at CES will show the progress it has made in developing lane optimization and merge assistance technologies.

The Smart Intersection technology also uses V2X communications technology, but goes further by using cameras mounted at intersections equipped with Honda’s object recognition software. This allows cars to see hazards that might otherwise be hidden by buildings or walls. The technology has the potential to save thousands of lives, since Honda pointed out that traffic collisions at intersections are responsible for 20 percent of the nearly 35,000 traffic-related deaths in the United States each year.

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