Mitsubishi Electric Partners with Commsignia Ltd for V2X Autonomous Car Tech

The Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) is more than just an automotive group. With a focus on electric appliances, mobile technology, and even a hand in the space program at one point, there are many subsidiaries that make up MMC, with Mitsubishi Motors being just one angle the corporation focuses on. Mitsubishi Electric gets a lot of attention when it comes to the technology coming to Mitsubishi models, one of which is their work on autonomous car technology, pushing Mitsubishi Motors that much closer to self-driving cars. The latest development comes from a strategic partnership between Commsignia Ltd. and Mitsubishi Electric to increase the effectiveness and safety of autonomous-driving and advanced-driver-assistance systems (ADAS).

Back in 2017, Mitsubishi Electric announced a mobile mapping system (MMS) that doesn’t just rely on light-detection and ranging (LiDAR) technology to get an idea of its surroundings. The MMS, eventually turned into a compact version named “MMS-G”, develops a 3D map of its surroundings in real time by using car-mounted GPS antennas, laser scanners, and cameras to gather 3D positioning data. It wasn’t until 2022 that we heard more about this self-driving technology, where Mitsubishi Electric shined during the 2022 Consumer Electronics Show with its work on artificial intelligence, robots, and autonomous driving smart cars.

The new agreement between Commsignia Ltd. and Mitsubishi Electric places a focus on Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) technology, a fast-growing tech in the auto industry. Almost every major automaker has a hand in V2X, from Stellantis increasing safety with in-vehicle notifications about hazardous situations on the road to the Kia Corporation releasing a store to download apps that let consumers customize their interior cabin. Mitsubishi Electric is using it to integrate Commsignia’s communication software with security functions and application software to make self-driving vehicles safer in countries that are already allowing the installation and commercial use of V2X systems in automobiles. With Mitsubishi Electric’s High-Definition Locator (HDL) technology and the V2X of Commsignia, the self-driving tech can use high-precision positioning and mapping data for roads, lanes, and more in the vicinity of moving vehicles.

One great example of this is curvy roads or heavy weather conditions where a self-driving vehicle may fail to pick up on vehicles up ahead, due to no vehicle in sight. That’s where V2X technology comes in – V2X technology is being widely used to allow vehicles to talk to one another. Going around a curve? The oncoming vehicle can transmit its location to the consumer’s self-driving vehicle, and the autonomous tech in the car will align itself to avoid a collision or incident in this scenario. It’s one more step towards a world where everyone is in a self-driving car, and thus, much less incidents when all autonomous cars share a hive mind or network to facilitate safe driving.

More plans are already in the works where vehicles just don’t share position but also data from on-board sensors, like cameras, to better maneuver around obstacles one vehicle may not “see” but the other vehicle does. Kind of like flashing your high beams when a speed trap is just around the corner to give other drivers a heads up. But in this case, it’s fully automatic.

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Photo Source/Copyright: Mitsubishi Electric