Acura’s self-driving car has started testing period on Wednesday morning. The refit model of the RXL Sport-Hybrid sedan is provided with hidden sensors. The autonomous car has been tested by Honda Research Institute USA at the testing ground, GoMentum Station, in San Francisco.

Japanese car brand, Acura has presented its second generation car of self-driving technology. This is a minimalistic desing of the full-size sport sedan, whose cables and wires are integrated in such a way that they can be hardly perceptible at plain sight. 

A Honda Acura RLX with rooftop sensors at the Concord self driving car testing site. Image Credit: Techno Buffalo
A Honda Acura RLX with rooftop sensors at the Concord self driving car testing site. Image Credit: Techno Buffalo

California state has witnessed the most recent design of automated technology of Acura. The RLX model has been overhauled with a set of radar, camera, Lidar and GPS sensors. Furthermore, the luxury sedan counts with an updated performance of CPUs (Central Processing Unit) and GPUs (Graphics Processing Unit). In addition, both systems are associated to computerized functions.

All improvements have been blended with an advanced software that has been specially designed for automated scenarios. Also, cabling, heat management and circuitry were enhanced to provide a comfort and luxury to the refit car.

The self-driving concept of the second generation RLX sedan vehicle has been created keeping in mind artificial intelligence to create a low-cost self-driving car. The autonomous system of this vehicle is composed by sensor fusion. A concept applied by AcuraWatch safety and driver assistive suite, available for all Acuras coming out in 2016.

The sensor fusion concept gives accuracy and reliability to this kind of tech. Assistant engineers and testers can now detect and validate information more accurately. Information is sent throughout signals detected by each sensors encrusted in the car’s system. The sensor fusion system allows to detect location and directional speed of off-board objects. While the camera system is helpful while detecting objects based on their shape and size.

GoMentum Station Scenario

This sort of technologie would replace human drivers one day. For this reason, a special scenario has been provided with all the infrastructure presented at real roadways. Former naval base, GoMentum Station, located at the San Francisco Bay Area, is a testing ground where autonomous vehicles have been tested.  

The facility comprises a 5,000-acre automated, in which, automatic driving test cars show its capacity for driving under “real” circumstances. The station is provided of 20-miles of paved, roadway grids that resemble the real ones, automatized buildings,  and all urban infrastructure is set as realistic as it is possible. In future, automated and connected cars could replace humans behind the wheel and this tech must get developed in real environments.

This same facility would be used as testing scenario for supposed Apple’s autonomous car. Apple already started discussion with GoMentum Station about the tests of it future “Project Titan”, even though, the electric vehicle of the company remains in secret.

Overhauled RLX Sport-Hybrid

Acura has used its RLX Sport-Hybrid sedan as test bed for the automatic driving test. The original design of the car comprises a front-electric motor and at the back, two electric motors, which is translated into a powerful machine, fuel efficiency and the driving part becomes much more comfortable. The electric-powered system of this sedan is all spread in the machine, starting at motor and finishing at the precision the wheels have, while performing in different environments.

The trial is part of a automated driving technology the company aspires to present by 2020. Image Credit: Engadget
The trial is part of a automated driving technology the company aspires to present by 2020. Image Credit: Engadget

This is how the characteristics of this Acura model result ideals for a refit of an automatic car. This time, Acura tests the self-driving tech of its line and the scenarios where these futuristic cars could take place one day.

This is the second automated vehicle Acura presents in the aim of developing self-driving technologies.

Honda Research Institute USA is in charge of testing this second generation automated vehicle. This car brand manages computerized vehicles. It develops strategies based on scientific and technological advances that might be implemented in near future.

Sleeker design for the new RLX Sport-Hybrid 

As opposed to Google’s autonomous vehicle, Acura’s innovation manages to present an environmentally friendly car as well as a sleeker design, different from those already presented by other companies. The RLX Sport-Hybrid engages luxury, systematic integration and automated technology that will the leader of the future automated driving technology that Acura aims to develop by 2020.

Source: Top Speed