Honda Testing Innovative Automated Vehicle Technology at Bay ...

American Honda Motor Co., Inc. ·∙ 1919 Torrance Blvd. ·∙ Torrance, California 90501-‐2746 ·∙ Phone (310) 783-‐3170 ·∙ Fax (310) 783-‐3622 Media Web Site: www.hondanews.com Consumer Web Site: www.honda.com

CONCORD, CA – Today, Honda announced that it has commenced testing of its automated and

connected vehicle technology at the Concord Naval Weapons Station (CNWS) in the San Francisco Bay

Area. Under the terms of an agreement reached with the Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA)

in conjunction with the City of Concord, Honda will use the newly branded “GoMentum Station” test-‐

bed site at the CNWS to advance its technologies. Honda also plans to participate in a consortium

committed to making Contra Costa County home to a premier testing facility for automated drive

technologies.

GoMentum Station, a 5,000-‐acre facility, is the largest secure test-‐bed of its kind, located at the

CNWS. The CNWS was officially closed in 2007 and is currently in the process of being transferred to the

City of Concord. GoMentum Station contains 20-‐miles of paved, city-‐like roadway grids, buildings and

other urban infrastructure, providing a realistic environment that will help accelerate the development

of automated and connected vehicle technologies. The public will not have access to the test-‐bed site,

and the automated vehicle testing will be restricted to GoMentum Station.

Honda will leverage modified versions of Acura’s flagship RLX sedan for development and

testing at GoMentum Station. New prototype sensors and cameras added to the vehicle will work hand-‐

in hand with the extensive array of forward, reverse and corner sensors that enable a suite of

AcuraWatch™ safety and driver assistive technologies on the production RLX.

Honda Testing Innovative Automated Vehicle Technology at Bay Area Navy Base

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, March 31, 2015

CONTACTS:

Matt Sloustcher Corporate Affairs & Communications, Honda 310. 357.5711 [email protected]

Linsey Willis Director of External Affairs, CCTA 925.256.4728 [email protected]

ISSUED BY:

Press Release: Honda Testing Innovative Automated Vehicle Technology at Bay Area Navy Base


Supporting Statements

“The Concord Naval Weapons Station is an ideal proving ground to augment Honda’s research

and development efforts because it is a controlled environment that can be continuously modified to

represent a wide array of settings that an automated vehicle must navigate, especially for urban

operation,” said Paul Cummings, Group Lead for Systems Integration, Automated Vehicle Research,

Honda Research Institute USA. “This program will bring a new level of robustness to Honda’s industry-‐

leading efforts in the area of automated and connected vehicle technology.”

“The Contra Costa Transportation Authority is committed to supporting innovative research

that will influence transportation and enhance safety for all road users,” said Randy Iwasaki, Executive

Director. “We are very excited to add Honda as a partner as we prepare for the launch of GoMentum

Station. Their impressive study of automated and connected vehicle technology will help us accelerate

the next generation of transportation infrastructure that will make the future of driving safer around the

world.”

“The City of Concord is very pleased to see Honda bring its advanced automated vehicle

research to Contra Costa,” stated Tim Grayson, Mayor of the City of Concord. “We’re very hopeful this

partnership will continue to support economic growth and spur excitement for hi-‐tech jobs in our

community.”

Honda Advanced Technology Leadership

Honda is steadily building its automated and connected car technology portfolio, while bringing

industry-‐leading capabilities to current generation vehicles. In September 2014, the company

demonstrated several of its latest innovations, including a vehicle capable of automated freeway

merging, exiting and lane changing, as well as a unique vehicle-‐to-‐vehicle (V2V) “virtual tow” capability

for assisting a driver in distress, at the ITS World Congress in Detroit.

Consistent with its pursuit of a collision-‐free society, Honda is also broadly deploying advanced

driver-‐assist and early-‐stage automated driving technologies in current vehicles that help improve

drivers’ situational awareness, such as Lane Departure Warning, Forward Collision Warning, Adaptive

Cruise Control with Low-‐Speed Follow, Collision Mitigation Braking System™ and Road Departure

Mitigation. Honda is also leading the industry in the deployment of rearview cameras, to be offered as

standard equipment on all model year 2015 Honda and Acura vehicles.



Complementing this new effort in Northern California, Honda is also a founding partner in the

University of Michigan’s Mobility Transformation Center (MTC), a major public-‐private R&D initiative

that aims to lay the foundation for a commercially viable system of connected and automated vehicles,

including the implementation of a working system in Ann Arbor by 2021.

About Honda Research Institute USA

Honda Research Institute USA (HRI-‐US) conducts research in the areas of computer and

materials science, and develops strategic partnerships with public and private institutions to foster

innovation. HRI-‐US was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Silicon Valley. Learn more at honda-‐

ri.com/HRI_Us/.

About The Contra Costa Transportation Authority

The Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA) is a public agency formed by Contra Costa

voters in 1988 to manage the county's transportation sales tax program and oversee countywide

transportation planning efforts. CCTA is responsible for planning, funding and delivering critical

transportation infrastructure projects and programs that connect our communities, foster a strong

economy, increase sustainability, and safely and efficiently get people where they need to go. CCTA also

serves as the county's designated Congestion Management Agency, responsible for putting programs in

place to keep traffic levels manageable. As a transportation leader, CCTA is working to create a stronger

economic future for Contra Costa County by building partnerships that make transportation safer, more

reliable and increasingly efficient. Rather than exclusively trying to “build our way” out of congestion,

CCTA’s vision centers around the use of emerging technologies and public-‐private partnerships to meet

transportation demands and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Contra Costa County. More

information about CCTA can be found online at ccta.net.

About City of Concord

Concord, California is located 29 miles east of San Francisco, adjacent to beautiful Mt. Diablo.

The city covers 31.13 square miles. With a 2010 census count of 122,067 residents, it is the largest city

in Contra Costa County. For more information about the City of Concord, or the redevelopment of the

Concord Naval Weapons Station, please contact Leslye Asera at 925.671.3272 or

[email protected].

About GoMentum Station

GoMentum Station in Concord, California is where the Contra Costa Transportation Authority

leads and facilitates a collaborative partnership among multiple automobile manufacturers; original



equipment manufacturers and Tier 1 suppliers; communications suppliers; technology companies;

researchers and academia; public agencies and other partners. At GoMentum Station, technology,

innovation and commercialization will converge to define the next generation of transportation network

infrastructure. More information about GoMentum Station is available at gomentumstation.net.

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Photo: Acura RLX at GoMentum Station

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