TOKYO: Mazda Motor Corp.  has unveiled the industry’s first technology to autonomously bring the vehicle to a safe place and stop it when a sudden change in the driver’s physical condition is detected.

The Japanese automaker plans to introduce the “Mazda Co-Pilot” system onto its vehicles in stages from 2022, aiming to establish an autonomous driving technology that would help the driver like a copilot in an aircraft in case of emergency while providing the joy of driving at normal times.

During a trial session held on a street in Tokyo’s Minato Ward, a Mazda vehicle equipped with the new system, after the driver pushed an emergency button and took hands off the steering wheel, started to slow down while indicating danger with a warning tone and hazard lights. The vehicle then switched lanes autonomously and stopped at a safe location after passing around a truck parked on the side of the road.

The car swiftly judges how it should move based on the traffic situation surrounding it and stops at an appropriate location within 60 seconds.

In the future, Mazda hopes to put into practical use a system that monitors the driver’s head position and pupil size to detect a sudden health problem so that the vehicle can be switched to the autonomous stopping mode.

To be introduced first in 2022 is the technology to autonomously steer the vehicle to a road shoulder when it is traveling on an expressway. In 2025 or later, Mazda aims to introduce the technology to allow the vehicle to change lanes autonomously on local streets.

JIJI Press