DENSO Corporation has taken a stake in Metawave Corporation, a U.S. startup company that develops cutting-edge, millimeter-wave radar sensing technologies to detect vehicles and pedestrians. Metawave announced on May 15, 2018, it raised an additional $10 million from DENSO, Toyota AI Ventures, Hyundai Motor Company, and other strategic investors.
DENSO will harness Metawave’s technologies to accelerate the development of a smart automotive radar system for autonomous cars. Metawave has the core technologies for expanding radar detection range, improving recognition performance and reducing size.
To create a safe future of mobility, DENSO has been working to develop sensors that serve as vehicles’ “eyes.” Radar, a critical component found in nearly all autonomous cars, drastically improves the vehicle’s ability to recognize near-by conditions and objects.
A millimeter-wave radar sensor detects surrounding conditions using radio waves in the millimeter-wave band. The sensors are used in the radar systems to apply the brakes when a collision is unavoidable, and keep a certain distance from a preceding vehicle when driving. DENSO’s millimeter-wave radar sensors are used in Toyota’s Alphard and Vellfire models, which were released in January 2018 in combination with a vision sensor for recognizing vehicles and pedestrians.
DENSO develops technologies and products to build a safe and secure future of transportation for all people around the world. The goal is to create a society free from traffic accidents.
