The Sensing suite by Honda has become one the first points of contact Malaysians have had with driver assist or active safety features, at least when it comes to the mass market. However, some new additions are coming in that’ll take it even further.
As a collection of technologies, it will be adding functionality currently beyond the reach of the conventional Sensing package found in pretty much every Honda model offered in Malaysia (with exception of the BR-V, first generation).
Autonomous Emergency Braking (branded as Collision Mitigation Braking System) will have cross-traffic and pedestrian detection capabilities. In addition, there is Front Cross-Traffic Alert as standard as well as Active Lane-Change Assist and Lane-Change Collision Mitigation.
If all that’s a little too technical, what it essentially means for future Hondas is the nearing of an autonomously piloted vehicle, able to change lanes without human intervention and even the overtaking of other vehicles under certain conditions.
There’s also Exit Warning, Driver Attention Warning, Driver Emergency Support that helps to prevent accidents when the driver is incapacitated, and Emergency Steering Assist. They all sound very useful in certain situations but of course hopefully we’ll never need to find out.
Overall, it’s quite the big step for Honda, but it’s unclear as to how quickly the brand plans to have Sensing 360 proliferated across the cars offered in multiple regions and countries. It’s possible that customers will have to pay an additional fee to install and activate, so we’ll keep you posted.
For now, it’s confirmed that new cars in China will be equipped with the enhanced Sensing tech from the 2024 model year onwards. Untung lah!
That being said, Honda is also working on an even more advanced safety suite called Sensing Elite that will naturally surpass the expanded abilities of Sensing 360, into which the current iteration of sensing is to be rolled into from 2024
Sensing Elite's more AI-focused approach to active safety will take more time to fully develop, but is planned to be introduced sequentially on a global basis from around 2025 onwards.
One of its core features, first seen in 2021 as Traffic Jam Pilot, already qualifies for Level 3 automated driving technology. It's that kind of innovations that will trickle into the expanded Sensing 360 suite over the coming years.
Through these initiatives, Honda is aiming to reduce global traffic collision fatalities involving Honda motorcycles and automobiles by half by 2030, while aiming to eliminate all collision fatalities involving Honda motorcycles and automobiles globally by 2050.
Keyword: Honda expands active safety suite with flagship Sensing 360