Mitsubishi Motors Corporation last year unveiled the Mitsubishi ASV-2 research model that incorporates many elements of Mitsubishi advanced safety technology developed over the years. The occasion was the "Smart Cruise 21 Demo 2000" held in Tsukuba City, Ibaraki Prefecture in last winter as part of the ITS technology proving initiative run jointly by the Japanese Transport and Construction ministries. After some minor improvements, Mitsubishi ASV-2 received Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MLIT) type approval on August 16. This opens the way for Mitsubishi Motors to put Mitsubishi ASV-2 through an extensive road proving test program and represents a major step forward in the practical application of ITS^*1 technology in regular production models.

Mitsubishi Motors has played an active role in Phases 1 and 2 of the Japanese Ministry of Transport's ASV^*2 Project^*3 that started in fiscal 1991. Over the years, Mitsubishi Motors has brought to market a number of world-pioneering support technologies designed to assist the driver in safer operation of his vehicle. Included among these is the Driver Support System launched in February 2000 which comprises three main systems: Preview distance control, Lane departure warning and Side-rear monitor. The company applied for MLIT type approval for Mitsubishi ASV-2 because it believes that ITS technology must be properly evaluated through road testing from the development stage before it is brought to market.

With type approval, the company will now be able to put Mitsubishi ASV-2 through an extensive road evaluation program, thereby contributing to the establishment of technical standards for the new ITS technologies being promoted by the MLIT.

The program will also enable Mitsubishi Motors to gather and analyze a variety of data on non-professional drivers as well, and to feed back the results to its product development as it presses ahead with the active incorporation of advanced safety technologies in Mitsubishi production vehicles.

Principal systems under feasibility testing
in Mitsubishi ASV-2 (MLIT type-approved)

Type approval applications have been submitted for the bold systems. The MLIT has relaxed the application of safety regulations to these systems in order to avoid conflicts.

The individual system names in parentheses are the common names in the ASV project phase2.

1. Preventive Safety Technologies
   
   
   1. Lane Trace Assist (Lane Keeping Assistance System)
      The system uses a camera mounted in the rearview mirror to monitor the lane dividing lines and generates a weak assist torque on the steering wheel keeping the vehicle in its lane thereby reducing the driver's steering load and improving safety.
   2. Light Distribution Control Headlight (Adaptive Front-lighting System)
      The system improves visibility at night through the optimal control of headlight distribution matched to driving conditions (ex. vehicle speed), driver inputs (ex. steering wheel angle), and, using information from the on-board navigation system, road configuration (winding or straight).
   3. Advanced High-mount Stop Lamp (Emergency Braking Advisory System to the Following Vehicle's Driver)
      The system adjusts the illuminated width of the high-mount stop lamp according to the speed of deceleration thus indicating to rear vehicles the degree at which the vehicle is slowing down thereby reducing rear-end collisions.
   4. Night Pedestrian Monitor (Nighttime Pedestrian Monitoring System)
      The system uses an infrared camera mounted in the front grille to monitor the road ahead and provides the driver with pedestrian information on a heads-up display.
   5. Driver Alertness Monitor (Drowsiness Warning System)
      The system uses a small CCD camera mounted on the dashboard to monitor eye blink frequency and eyelid closure time to determine the driver's degree of alertness. The system issues voice and visual warnings when it determines the driver is dozing at the wheel or detects a decrease in driver alertness level.
   6. Heads-up Display (Head-up Display System)
      The HUD system projects vehicle speed, warnings, and other information onto the windshield in the peripheral view of the driver to inform the driver about vehicle status thereby improving safety through increasing eyes-on-the-road time and reducing refocusing time.


2. Damage Mitigating Technologies
   
   
   1. Pedestrian Injury Mitigating Body (Vehicle Body for Mitigating Pedestrian Injury)
      The front end of the vehicle body has an impact-absorbing structure to mitigate injury in the event of an accident involving a pedestrian.


3. Fundamental Automotive Technologies
   
   
   1. Voice -activated System (Advanced Human Interface Technologies)
      The Voice-activated Information System improves safety by reducing operation load through a voice interface that enables the driver to operate car navigation, in-car entertainment, climate control and other on-board systems.