Honda car can drive hands free

HONDA has shared its vision of the hands-free commute, a car that can safely drive itself on the road while the driver’s hands are off the wheel.

While the car is just a prototype, Honda says the technology could start appearing on Honda cars in 2020 and beyond.

The prototype — an Acura RLX saloon — has cameras that monitor lane marking and multiple radar sensors on the front and sides.

On top is a beacon that uses laser beams to continually scan the car’s surroundings, similar to self-driving prototypes already introduced by Google, Ford and Toyota. GPS also helps the car stay on a previously mapped course and follow the speed limit.

On a loop around Detroit city, the car’s driver took his hands off the wheel as the car entered the motorway. It accelerated to the speed limit and applied the brakes if it got too close to a car in front.

It also signalled to change lanes and waited for an opening. The car merged easily onto two other motorways and edged to the left to avoid a construction zone.

The driver’s hands remained off the wheel for the entire eight-mile loop.

The company is showing the car in Detroit this week as part of the Intelligent Transport Systems World Congress, an annual gathering of engineers and other researchers.

Meanwhile, Renault will build a small version of the electric vehicles that have become a common sight in Paris under the “Autolib” self-service hire brand, putting a big name behind the concept of purpose-built, rechargeable hire cars for the first time.

The French carmaker unveiled on Tuesday a joint venture with conglomerate Bollore, operator of the existing Paris Autolib fleet, to build three-seater versions of the cars at its Dieppe factory in northwest France.

Bollore, which operates similar electric car schemes in Lyon and Bordeaux and is rolling out projects in London and Indianapolis too, currently produces all its four-seaters — known outside of the Autolib scheme as the Bluecar — in Italy under a joint venture with the car’s designer Pininfarina.

Production of the new Renault-badged version is due to start in the second half of 2015 at Renault’s Dieppe factory in northwest France, a Renault spokesman said.

Launched at the end of 2011, the drab-yet-distinctive Autolibs with their stainless steel-look finish now number more than 2,500 cars using 5,000 recharging points in the French capital.