October 30, 2015
Subaru’s “EyeSight” Driver Assist System Wins 2015 Good Design Gold Award
‐ First-Ever Driver Assist System to Receive the Award ‐
Tokyo, October 30, 2015 - Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. (FHI), the manufacturer of Subaru automobiles, is pleased to announce that its EyeSight driver assist system has received the 2015 Good Design Gold Award (Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Award) from the Japan Institute of Design Promotion. This is the first time the award has been given to a driver assist system.
EyeSight was born from Subaru engineers’ strong will to eradicate traffic accidents. Adopting a unique approach, the system detects the presence of other vehicles, pedestrians, and cyclists, solely by use of stereo cameras. In addition to avoiding frontal collisions and limiting damage in the event of an accident, the EyeSight technology has made possible a host of other preventive safety functions, most notably Adaptive Cruise Control and Active Lane Keep. EyeSight has been acclaimed as one of the world’s leading driver assist systems, and all EyeSight-equipped models were awarded the top rating in Japan’s preventive safety performance assessment.*1
Presenting the award, the organizer described EyeSight as a world-pioneering driver assist system originally developed by Subaru engineers using a specially designed LSI chip that processes images captured by the stereo cameras. The citation pointed out that EyeSight, now in its third generation, has made a significant contribution as one of the first systems to offer drivers the advanced functions that will be essential as self-driving cars are expected to become widely available in the future—in particular, features for avoiding collisions, following preceding vehicles, and maintaining lane position.
Subaru continuously enhances driver assist systems as safety features to make driving a more enjoyable experience. With EyeSight’s technology advancements, we aim to create production cars capable of automated driving on expressways by the year 2020. Subaru is committed to developing automated driving technology as a driver assist feature that provides “Enjoyment and Peace of Mind”.
The EyeSight system will be on display at the Good Design Exhibition 2015 that showcases this year’s award-winning designs. The exhibition runs from Friday, October 30 to Wednesday, November 4 at Tokyo Midtown in Minato-ku, Tokyo.
＜ About Good Design Award ＞
The Good Design Award is Japan’s only comprehensive award program for design. The selection process takes into account not only how a design looks, but also its development, underlying principles, and significance.
The Good Design Gold Award is a special honor given to a number of especially noteworthy designs chosen by the screening panel from among the Good Design Best 100.
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*1. Conducted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) and the National Agency for Automotive Safety and Victims’ Aid (NASVA).
Subaru’s Driver Assist System Development: History and Future Plans| 1989： | Starts developing stereo cameras to be mounted in vehicles |
| 1999： | Launches Active Driving Assist (ADA) ・Offers the world’s first driver assist functions controlled solely by stereo cameras. |
| 2008： | Launches EyeSight ・The world’s first driver assist functions controlled solely by stereo cameras to include Pre-Collision Braking Control that detects other vehicles, cyclists, and pedestrians, and Adaptive Cruise Control. |
| 2010： | Launches EyeSight (ver.2) ・Incorporates an automatic braking function that makes it possible to avoid collisions with other vehicles, cyclists, and pedestrians. |
| 2014： | Launches EyeSight (ver.3) ・Enhances driver assist functions, including upgrades to the stereo camera system and the addition of the Active Lane Keep steering control function. |
| 2017 (plan)： | EyeSight technology to be further advanced, to offer vehicles capable of automatically following preceding vehicles in the same lane on congested expressways. |
| 2020 (plan)： | EyeSight technology to be further evolved, to create vehicles capable of automated driving on expressways. |
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