TOKYO, Sept. 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Honda Motor Co.,
Ltd. today introduced the technology development direction the
company is currently pursuing for the challenges Honda is taking
on in new areas while leveraging its core technologies. This
direction leads to the fulfillment of Honda's 2030 Vision of
serving people worldwide with the "joy of expanding their life's
potential."
Honda Takes on Challenges in New Areas Leveraging Its Core
Technologies
While solidifying its existing businesses as the foundation of
the company, Honda is thoroughly committed to contributing to the
realization of a society with zero environmental impact and zero
traffic collisions, and also new initiatives that enable Honda to
take on challenges in new areas. In addition to research on
advanced environmental and safety technologies, Honda R&D Co.,
Ltd., which takes a lead role in Honda's technology research and
development, is pursuing outside-the-box research on technologies
that will bring about new value for people by expanding the
potential of mobility into the 3rd dimension, then the 4th
dimension which defies the constraints of time and space, and
ultimately into outer space.
These new initiatives are made possible by core technologies
Honda has amassed to date, including technologies in the areas of
combustion, electrification, control and robotics. Through the
comprehensive utilization of such technological strengths, Honda
will strive to realize the joy of expanding people's life's
potential in new areas in addition to existing business areas.
These new areas include an electric vertical take-off and
landing aircraft, avatar robot with a goal to expand the range of
human ability and a new challenge in the field of outer
space.
1. Honda eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing)
aircraft will make mobility in the skies more accessible for
people.
- Honda eVTOL leverages Honda's electrification technologies for
its gas turbine hybrid power unit.
- Adoption of the hybrid power unit enables the extension of
range, which will enable Honda eVTOL to provide inter-city
(city-to-city) transportation, where the market size is expected to
grow in the future.
- Honda will create a new "mobility ecosystem" featuring Honda
eVTOL at its core, connected with mobility products on the
ground.
To make the mobility in the skies Honda realized with its
original HondaJet even more accessible for more people, Honda is
developing its eVTOL (electric Vertical Take-off and
Landing) aircraft by taking advantage of a wide range of Honda's
core technologies.
In addition to clean operation realized by
electrification technologies, eVTOL features safety at a
level equivalent to that of commercial passenger airplanes
realized by its simple structure and decentralized propulsive
system and quietness due to relatively small diameter of
rotors. This makes it possible for eVTOL to take off and land in
the middle of a city without causing noise issues. Because of such
features, the development race for eVTOL aircraft is getting
increasingly vigorous. However, all-electric eVTOL aircraft face a
range issue due to limited battery capacity, therefore the
realistic use area is limited to intra-city (inside city)
transportation.
To address this issue and realize user-friendly inter-city
transportation with longer range, Honda will leverage its
electrification technologies and develop Honda eVTOL equipped with
a gas turbine hybrid power unit. Moreover, in addition to
electrification technologies, Honda eVTOL will feature technologies
Honda has amassed in a number of different areas such as
combustion, aerodynamics and control technologies.
Honda will strive to create new value for people by establishing
a "mobility ecosystem" featuring eVTOL aircraft at its core,
coordinated and integrated with mobility on the ground.
2. Honda Avatar Robot: will make virtual mobility
possible
- Honda will develop an avatar robot with the goal to expand the
range of human ability virtually without the constraints of time
and place / space.
- Honda Avatar Robot will be equipped with a multi-fingered hand,
an application of Honda robotics technologies, and Honda's original
AI-supported remote control function.
- With a view to putting the Honda Avatar Robot into practical
use in the 2030s, Honda is pursuing development with a goal to
conduct technology demonstration testing before the end of the
fiscal year ending March 31,
2024.
Striving to expand human potential and make people's lives
without constraints and more enjoyable, Honda has been continuously
working on robotics research, including the research and
development of its bi-pedal robot ASIMO. As a part of
next-generation Honda robotics, Honda is pursuing development for
the practical applications of Honda's original avatar robot to
expand the range of human ability virtually without the constraints
of time and place.
The greatest merit of an avatar robot, which can act as a second
self of the user, is that the user can perform tasks and experience
things without being there in person, including the realistic sense
of handling objects remotely. What will become the core of the
realization of such an avatar robot is the multi-fingered
robotic hand developed while leveraging Honda' strengths in
robotics technologies and Honda's original AI-supported remote
control function. Therefore, Honda strived for an avatar robot
that is capable of using its multi-fingered hand to make full use
of tools designed for human use and performs complex tasks quickly
and accurately based on the AI-supported and more intuitive control
by the user.
To date, Honda has realized a multi-fingered hand with the
ability to both delicately pick up a small object with the
fingertips and the strength to open a tight jar lid, at the level
of the human hand. This has long been a challenge in the field of
robotics research. Moreover, in order to enable its multi-fingered
hand to grasp an object smoothly in one sequence of moves
and handle a tool with precise control of force, Honda is
working on the further advancement of its original AI-supported
remote control function.
Honda is currently working on downsizing the hardware and
further improvement of the precision of robotic hand movements such
as "grasping" and "manipulation." Honda is striving to begin
technology demonstration testing of the Honda Avatar Robot
before the end of the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024, with a vision to put it into
practical use in the 2030s.
3. Taking on challenges in the field of space
technology
- Accelerating Honda research and development in the field of
space technologies while viewing it as a place to take on
challenges to realize the "dreams" and "potential" of people
worldwide while leveraging its core technologies
- Building a circulative renewable energy system on the lunar
surface by leveraging Honda fuel cell technologies and high
differential pressure water electrolysis technologies
- Applying Honda's multi-fingered robotic hand, AI-supported
remote control function, and highly-responsive torque control
technologies to remotely-controlled robots which will perform tasks
on the lunar surface
- Proposal by young Honda engineers to research and develop a
small, reusable rocket by applying Honda's core technologies such
as combustion, fluid, control and guidance technologies
Honda views the field of space technologies as a place to take
on new challenges to realize the "dreams" and "potential" of
people worldwide while leveraging its core technologies.
By leveraging core technologies unique to Honda, such as
combustion, guidance, fuel cell and robotics technologies, Honda is
pursuing technology development with a goal to create new value in
the ultimate environment of outer space.
3-1. Challenges on the lunar surface:
- Circulative renewable energy system
- Application of Honda technologies to remote-controlled
robots
As international momentum for expanding the range of human
activities outside the Earth continues to grow, Honda began
initiatives to strive for the expansion of human activities and
development on the lunar surface. It is said that there is
water on the Moon, and various possibilities for the use of water
may open up are attracting attention. Honda is conducting a joint
research with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) with a
goal to build the circulative renewable energy system on the
lunar surface by leveraging fuel cell technologies and high
differential pressure water electrolysis technologies Honda has
amassed to date.
By combining Honda's fuel cell technologies and high
differential pressure water electrolysis technologies, and by
using electricity from renewable energy sources, the system
electrically decomposes water and stores hydrogen and oxygen. Then,
using that hydrogen and oxygen, Honda's fuel cell technologies, can
generate and supply electricity. The oxygen also can be used for
people staying at living quarters on the lunar surface, and the
hydrogen also will be used as fuel for rockets. By building such
a circulative renewable energy system, Honda will strive to
contribute to a wide range of human activities on the lunar
surface.
Moreover, for the remotely-controlled robots on the lunar
surface, which can minimize the risks astronauts will be exposed to
and enable people to virtually enjoy the experience of being on the
Moon from Earth, Honda is expecting to apply a number of its core
technologies. This includes the multi-fingered robotic hand
technology and AI-supported remote control technology being
developed for the Honda Avatar Robot and the highly-responsive
torque control technology for collision mitigation. These research
themes were adopted by the JAXA Space Exploration Innovation Hub
and the joint research began in February of this year.
3-2. Reusable small rocket which will apply Honda's core
technologies
Honda also is working on the development of
small rockets. This rocket development was initiated by the
proposal made by young Honda engineers who wanted to build a
small rocket by utilizing core technologies, such as combustion and
control technologies, that Honda has amassed through the
development of various products.
Artificial satellites are indispensable for various purposes
including the observation of the global environment, such as global
warming and abnormal weather conditions and also to enable
wide-area communication, which is an effective means to provide
connectivity to mobility products. However, currently, there are
not enough rockets available to meet demand for satellite launches.
To address this issue, Honda is developing a small rocket with a
goal to use it as a launch vehicle for small low-earth orbit
satellites. Moreover, Honda is conducting research with an
assumption to make its rocket "reusable" by enabling at
least some of the rocket components to land back on earth after the
launching. For this challenge, Honda will strive to utilize control
and guidance technologies Honda has amassed through the development
of automated driving technologies.
In addition to a complete commitment to its environmental and
safety challenges, Honda will continue pursuing outside-the-box
research to leverage its core technologies and take on challenges
in new areas to bring about new value that overcomes the
constraints of time and space of people.
Comments by Keiji Ohtsu,
President and Representative Director of Honda R&D Co.,
Ltd.:
"All of the initiatives we introduced today are for
the challenges Honda takes on in new areas, but the underlying
passion of Honda to use our technology to make people's lives more
enjoyable remains unchanged. Ever since the company's founding, the
wellspring of Honda's challenges has always been the people at
Honda who generate original technologies and ideas. Through the
creation of new mobility, Honda will continue striving to change
the value people place on mobility and make positive changes to our
society."
About Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
(NYSE: HMC) is responsible for the development, production and
sales of automobiles, motorcycles, power products and aviation
products worldwide. A global leader in powertrain and electromotive
technologies, Honda produces over 30 million engines annually for
its three product lines. Honda and its partners build products in
more than 60 manufacturing plants in 27 countries, employing more
than 219,000 associates globally.
View original content to download
multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/honda-introduces-initiatives-in-new-areas-taking-on-challenges-in-new-areas-while-leveraging-its-core-technologies-301388448.html
SOURCE Honda