Your Next New Subaru With EyeSight Will Have High-Tech LiDAR

If you haven't heard of LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), it's a high-tech sensing method that uses a pulsed laser to measure distances. According to information sourced from the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), LiDAR is often used on airplanes and helicopters for acquiring data over broad areas. It can also strip back layers of the forest to see ancient hidden structures.

Subaru is now using LiDAR by partnering with a company called ON Semiconductor for its next-generation EyeSight X driver-assist technology. Subaru just launched the new safety system on the Levorg sports wagon in the Japan market, but the high-tech setup will be coming to U.S. customers soon and possibly on the 2022 Forester.

Eiji Shibata, general manager, EyeSight development project at Subaru, said, "We have teamed with ON Semiconductor for every generation of the EyeSight ADAS system (Advanced driver-assistance system) and continue to adopt its image sensing technology optimized for image recognition performance in automotive applications with higher resolution."

Subaru has already achieved the highest safety scores from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on its all-wheel-drive models. But the automaker isn't satisfied. Now they have a goal to use its EyeSight advanced safety system to achieve improved safety performance and have zero traffic fatalities in their automobiles by 2030.

The next-generation EyeSight is a big step in that direction. Shibata went on to say, "Our engineering partnership and technical collaboration on this system are vital to achieving our shared vision of improving safety and achieving zero traffic fatalities in the near future." You can read about how Subaru will accomplish this and how it benefits customers here.

Patrick Moorhead, founder, president, and principal analyst at Moor Insights and Strategy says, "Next-generation vehicles require several different kinds of sensors, including LiDAR, radar, and cameras, comprising the vehicle's ADAS. These sensors make real-time decisions about what's happening outside and inside the vehicle and how the vehicle should respond."

Subaru's next-generation EyeSight X offers 360-degree sensing by combining the front and rear radars, and the new EyeSight X uses 3D high-precision map data with road information for each lane.

Subaru says the new generation system scans everything captured by stereo cameras enabling the automaker to offer advanced features such as pre-collision braking at an intersection and assisting with hands-off driving in traffic congestion on a highway.

A report from Embedded Computing Design says the cameras and four external radars capture images of cars, pedestrians, and lane dividers, which the system then analyzes and, if needed, sends signals to the steering and brakes to take corrective action. "These actions could include accelerating, decelerating, changing direction, flashing lights, honking, and other methods of alerting drivers of possible danger."

None of Subaru's vehicles sold in the U.S. have the next-generation EyeSight X with LiDAR yet, but the new 2022 Subaru Forester could be the next model to get the high-tech safety system.

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Denis Flierl has invested over 30 years in the automotive industry in a consulting role working with every major car brand. He is an accredited member of the Rocky Mountain Automotive Press. Check out Subaru Report where he covers all of the Japanese automaker's models. More stories can be found on the Torque News Subaru page. Follow Denis on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

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Photo credit: Subaru