Hitachi Astemo announced that Isuzu Motors has adopted its sensing system in its new ELF light-duty truck model. Using a wide-angle stereo camera, the sensing system enables collision damage mitigation braking at intersections and on single-track roads.

With its enhanced safety equipment, the new ELF is the first light-duty truck in Japan to be equipped with braking that not only mitigates collision damage from the front, but also for right and left turns at intersections.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism in Japan is promoting the mandatory installation of collision mitigation braking not only in passenger cars but also in commercial vehicles such as trucks. Although accidents caused by trucks have been decreasing year by year, 60% of fatal accidents involving pedestrians occur at single-track roads, while 40% occur at right or left turns in intersections. Therefore there is a growing need for collision mitigation braking that can cover a wide field of view.

Hitachi Astemo developed a sensing system for Isuzu trucks that takes into account truck-specific use cases, along with the specification settings needed for achieving collision mitigation during right and left turns at intersections.

The sensing system employed in the new ELF model utilizes a 120-degree wide-angle stereo camera, enabling an expanded detection range. By combining the wide-angle stereo camera with detection information from millimeter-wave radar—a widely adopted safety feature for trucks—and implementing newly developed control software, Hitachi Astemo has achieved more precise wide-angle detection. This enables collision-mitigation braking at intersections and single-track roads.