New Delhi: With an aim to enable people to “transcend various constraints such as time, and to augment their abilities and possibilities”, Japanese automaker Honda Motor Company looks to invest in autonomous technologies for future mobility.
The company, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, said while mobility enables it to discover new things, there are various constraints.
“It may take a long time just to get to the destination, and we often cannot do anything else during that time. Or, we cannot even get to some places due to a lack of the proper means of transportation. Honda wants to enable people to transcend such constraints, and we want to continue offering the joy and freedom of mobility into the future,” Toshihiro Mibe, Director, President and Representative, Honda Motor Company, said at a press conference on Thursday.
The automaker is showcasing mobility products and technologies at the Tokyo Motor Show, which is now back as the Japan Mobility Show being held in Tokyo from October 26 to November 5, 2023.
In the autonomous vehicle space, it has unveiled a Cruise Origin autonomous vehicle. Together with GM and Cruise, Honda is planning to launch a driverless ride hail service using the vehicle, in Japan in early 2026. The company also showcased the CI MEV, a self driving micro mobility vehicle aimed at last mile mobility.
The company also showcased the SUSTAINA-C Concept, a car made of acrylic resin that is recycled and reused. Here, the focus is on resource circulation to achieve environmental sustainability in future mobility.
“Mobility products are made from a variety of materials, including metals, resins and fabrics. However, these materials and resources are limited. If we only use current ways of making products and recycling, there will, sooner or later, come a time when it will become difficult to sustain our production of mobility products,” Mibe said.
It also unveiled a Prelude Concept, which is a specialty sports model, with ‘prelude’ meaning an ‘introductory or preceding performance.’ Honda said this model will become the prelude for its future models which will embody its unalterable sports mindset.
Alongside, there was the Honda eVTOL aircraft and HondaJet. Honda Avatar Robot which will enable all people, including those who have limited mobility due to various constraints, to play active roles from a remote location. There was also the UNI ONE, a mobility device the users can steer simply by shifting their body weight while sitting without using hands and thus perform certain tasks while moving.
At this Japan Mobility Show, Honda said, “generative AI will generate design drawings of future mobility you dream of and project them on the “Loop Screen” inside our booth.”
