Honda Motor Company (NYSE: HMC) will be debuting its brand new self-driving car next year in Tokyo, Japan. The magnificent car will enable its driver to travel with their hands-free of the wheel and will allow the user to take their eyes off the road while in motion. This is the first time in the motor company's history that this sort of car has been made.
Honda is incorporating the technology into the Legend model, which is the brands flagship luxury model. The new software can allow the driver to relax on extended road trips to do as they please, but if it detects any issues on the road, it will warn the driver and encourage them to take the wheel. This places the car at level 3 out of 0-5 on the autonomy scale, the highest level being 5 which is a fully self-driving car, and the lowest level 0 being the everyday car most users drive.
This innovation will free the driver to safely access their smartphones, a move that many drivers currently do unsafely, as well as watch a movie or read a book while cruising to their destination.
The car is said to come to market at a cost of 10 million yen which is about $91,000. This price sets the car at an astonishing 40% higher cost than the standard luxury model.
Japanese legislation has been passed that will allow self-driving cars at a level 3 to operate on the road in spring of 2020, just before the car's release around June.
Japan hopes to benefit from the debut of the vehicle just as much as drivers will. One issue that the country with be trying to solve is the cost to install the sensors that it would take for the cars to stay in their proper lane, have the ability to observe traffic lights and avoid obstacles without human assistance. There is a great deal of other motor companies that hope to achieve self-driving cars at a level 3 or higher, but current Honda is the frontrunner.