Mazda to participate in ‘ITS-Safety 2010’ trials

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Mazda Motor Corp on Tuesday said it will participate in the “ITS-Safety 2010” combined tests of automotive Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) in Japan. Mazda will provide Mazda MPV and Mazda Atenza vehicles – equipped with advanced safe driving systems it has developed – for use in public demonstration events to be held from Feb 25 to 28 in Odaiba.

The ITS-Safety 2010 testing is being conducted by the ITS Promotion Council, a joint committee formed of public and private sector organizations in Japan to advance large-scale testing of safety technologies.

The ITS trials will verify the effectiveness of advanced automotive intelligent safety systems that have been jointly developed through public and private sector cooperation. This involves setting up the necessary apparatus on public roads, verifying the ITS technologies’ interoperability among different automakers and the system’s applicability to real-world driving use. The project’s overall aim is to make Japanese roads the safest in the world.

Mazda has been involved in ITS validation trials on public roads in the Hiroshima region since 2006. Its role, as a member of the consortium of regional government, academic and industry organizations that is sponsoring the local ITS trials, has been to develop on-board navigation systems to support ITS technology. To date, Mazda has equipped approximately 50 vehicles driven by consortium partners and members of the public with ITS-related safety systems. The data collected from these vehicles is being used to analyze unique characteristics of the local traffic infrastructure, such as large arched bridges with poor forward visibility or bridges that are shared by vehicles and streetcars.