Saturday 20 / April / 2024
Kawasaki, Japan: Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC), one of Asia’s leading commercial vehicle manufacturers, under the umbrella of Daimler Trucks Asia, unveiled the model year 2019 Super Great® on October 23. The new Super Great is Japan’s first HDT to be fitted with Level 2 automated driving support, equivalent to Level 2 automated driving technology defined by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). The 2019 models will be available through MFTBC sales companies and regional sales units across Japan starting from October 2019.
The new Super Great comes with the Level 2 automated driving support system “Active Drive Assist”, along with the updated “Active Brake Assist 5 (ABA®5)” collision mitigation system, which together can significantly reduce burdens on drivers.
Active Drive Assist analyzes road and lane conditions based on information obtained through a combination of a high-precision radar and a white line recognition camera installed at the front of the vehicle. This Level 2 equivalent automated driving support system can control the accelerator, brake and steering wheel simultaneously. The system achieves this level of support through the combination of the Proximity Control Assist® adaptive cruise control system at all speeds, and a newly installed Lane Keeping. Active Drive Assist thus helps reduce driver fatigue considerably and supports safe driving. Moreover, the Lane Departure Protection system, a more advanced version of the Lane Departure Warning System (LDWS), helps bring the vehicle within the lane through steering inputs while driving at 60km/h or above.
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The 2019 Super Great also features the new Active Brake Assist 5 (ABA®5) collision mitigation system featuring higher accuracy than previous iterations, providing an enhanced safety support function. ABA®5 achieves this higher accuracy by combining a conventional radar and a windshield-mounted camera, allowing the vehicle to avoid a collision if the preceding vehicle is stopped. In addition, pedestrian detection accuracy is improved and enables the vehicle to avoid a pedestrian collision at higher vehicle speeds than in previous models.
On top of these, the 2019 model features new advanced driving safety support systems, enhancing safety further. The Intelligent Headlight Control (IHC) system automatically switches the headlight to high beam in the dark and to low beam when it is bright through a windshieldmounted camera.
This feature negates the need for the driver to adjust high and low beam settings on their own. The 2019 Super Great also comes with the Traffic Sign Recognition (TSR) system. Specifically designed for traffic signs in Japan, a camera recognizes oncoming traffic
signs using image recognition technology and displays the relevant traffic sign on the instrument display.
The launch of the model year 2019 Super Great is part of Daimler Truck’s global push toward Level 4 automation of trucks. The Super Great follows the Mercedes-Benz Actros and the Freightliner Cascadia as the third Daimler Trucks HDT to feature Level 2 automated driving support functions.
Earlier this year, Daimler Trucks has committed to invest 500 million Euros in development of Level 4 automated driving technology. Since then, Daimler Trucks has inaugurated the Autonomous Technology Group, a global organization that coordinates research and development of autonomous driving technology for trucks between Europe, the US and Japan, and has acquired a large stake in TORC Robotics, a leading US-based startup focusing on autonomous trucking.
This strong global push will allow Mitsubishi Fuso to launch a Level 4-enabled truck for public road use in Japan as soon as regulations allow.
Main Features of the MY2019 Super Great: New Advanced Driver-Assistance
Systems
■ Active Drive Assist
The Active Drive Assist system combines the Proximity Control Assist® adaptive cruise control system with an additional function to support the control of the vehicle in the front-back and lateral directions and the stop/start system, which controls the accelerator, brakes and
steering, thereby helping the driver operate the vehicle while driving safely.
・Lane Keeping helps the driver stay in lane by controlling the steering through the entire speed range. This is enabled by a camera that recognizes lanes while the vehicle is moving.
・ Should the driver let the vehicle drift from the lane unintentionally while traveling at 60 km/h or above, the Lane Departure Protection system will help bring the vehicle within the lane through automated steering inputs while driving at 60km/h or above.
■ Active Brake Assist 5 (ABA®5)
ABA®5 is an upgrade of the collision mitigation system installed in the 2017 model (ABA®4) with higher accuracy. ABA®5 achieves this higher
accuracy by combining a conventional radar and a windshield-mounted camera, allowing the vehicle to avoid a collision if the preceding vehicle is stopped. In addition, pedestrian detection accuracy is improved and enables the vehicle to avoid a pedestrian collision at higher vehicle speeds than in previous models. ABA® is a registered trademark of MFTBC.
■ Intelligent Headlight Control (IHC)
The Intelligent Headlight Control (IHC) system automatically switches the headlight to high beam in the dark and to low beam when it is bright through a windshield-mounted camera.
■ Traffic Sign Recognition (TSR)
The Traffic Sign Recognition (TSR) system is specifically designed for traffic signs in Japan. A camera recognizes oncoming traffic signs using image recognition technology and displays the relevant traffic sign on the instrument display.
