The DENSO R&D Lab gives DENSO an opportunity to collaborate more closely with the University and North American automotive manufacturers on key safety technologies such as machine learning, Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and Automated Drive (AD). As part of the lab, 12 university students have been selected to participate in research projects, which will begin this month and run throughout 2017.

The DENSO R&D Lab is located at the University of Michigan’s North Campus Research Complex (NCRC), directly in the hub of research activity for AD that includes the Mobility Transformation Center (MTC) and its affiliated Mcity test facility, the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI), and the University of Michigan College of Engineering.

DENSO’s lab is a simulation environment with high-speed computing and high-capacity data storage. Simulation is conducted on high-performance computers and mechatronic systems, including an advanced driving simulator. Hardware-in-loop and driving simulators will provide researchers with functional verification of their methods for machine learning for AD and Collaborative AD (CoAD).

• Machine learning for AD. Researchers will develop machine learning techniques to support AD systems in recognizing their environment, which helps them to make intelligent and sophisticated automated driving decisions.

• Collaborative Automated Drive (CoAD). By sharing sensor information via Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC), researchers will study ways to enhance the capabilities of automated driving for CoAD. This technique will increase the perception range of the system beyond the field of view and line of sight of the on-board sensors.

Researchers will also test safety control algorithms such as forward collision warning, lane-keeping assistance, traffic sign recognition, V2X connected driving and pedestrian detection, among others.

In early December, DENSO also announced MDrive, a car sharing study in which University of Michigan-Dearborn students will help shape the future of mobility. With support from Detroit-based NextEnergy, an accelerator of advanced energy and mobility technologies, DENSO launched the study to determine what technologies may be needed for a new car-sharing segment. The students will provide feedback about car sharing and offer insights on helpful or unnecessary features in current car models.