Honda Previews ‘Virtual Towing’ Concept for Future Cars

Honda has joined other automakers in previewing its autonomous driving technology.

The Japanese automaker has revealed a prototype of its Acura RLX that is capable of hands-free highway driving and also showed off automated vehicle steering, braking and the capability for automated freeway entry, exit, lane change and other standard maneuvers at the recently Intelligent Transportation Society World Congress in Detroit. In addition, the company announced a new technology called “Virtual Tow” that drivers can use to assist another vehicle in distress.

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In the case of an emergency, Virtual Tow would use a vehicle-to-vehicle system to alert motorists in other vehicles nearby that they need assistance and has the capability to allow an assisting driver to virtually link up and “tow” the vehicle. The trailing vehicle would take driving cues from the lead vehicle. According to Honda, the system is designed to help a driver in the event of a medical emergency.

No timetable was announced for when we can expect these technologies to become a reality, but Honda is broadly adopting advanced driver-assist and early-stage automated driving technologies such as Lane Departure Warning, Forward Collision Warning and Adaptive Cruise Control with Low-Speed Follow, Collision Mitigation Braking and Road Departure Mitigation.

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[Source: The Detroit Bureau]

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