DENSO Engineers Take Top Prize for Outstanding Paper at Convergence

DETROIT, Oct. 19, 2006 -- Early detection of a disabled vehicle around a blind corner is a safety advantage for any driver.

Performing tasks like this via wireless communications is the wave of future "intelligent vehicles," according to a paper written by three DENSO engineers.

Their paper captured the 2006 Trevor O. Jones Outstanding Paper Award, presented during the Convergence Transportation Electronics Association (CTEA) banquet today.

The CTEA's highest award recognizes authors who write the most outstanding paper on the subject of transportation electronics for the biennial Convergence(R) conference.

"Wireless Communications for Vehicle Safety: Radio Link Performance and Wireless Connectivity Methods," was authored by Brian Gallagher and Hidehiko Akatsuka, of DENSO International America, Inc., and Hideaki Suzuki, of DENSO Corp.

Gallagher, the principal writer, presented the paper at Convergence during technical sessions on Oct. 17.

Currently, autonomous vehicle safety sensors such as vision cameras and on-vehicle radars can detect when the vehicle is about to steer outside its lane or when it is approaching another vehicle traveling much slower.

But these systems generally require "line-of-sight" environments and cannot see crossing cars at intersections or disabled vehicles around blind corners, for example, that can present hazards for drivers.

DENSO's award-winning paper delves into the potential of wireless systems to extend this sensor range through non-line-of-sight radio communications that can broadcast the presence, speed, direction and location of other similarly equipped vehicles, thereby expanding the horizon of awareness for the drivers, and provide earlier detection of potentially hazardous driving situations.

"DENSO has built and tested such technology to assess the effectiveness of such systems in real-world scenarios," said Doug Patton, senior vice president of Marketing and Engineering at DENSO International America. "DENSO has also provided data regarding tested countermeasures and ideas for improvement of vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-roadside communications systems."

In 1992, the CTEA developed the Convergence Outstanding Paper Award, renamed the Trevor O. Jones Award in 2000 after the founder of Convergence who also made significant contributions to the field of transportation electronics. The award recognizes papers that cover aspects of passenger car, truck, and commercial vehicle electronics.

In 1993, an endowment was established by Siemens Automotive, Ford Motor Co. and ITT Automotive that supports the award in perpetuity.

The $10,000 in prize money will be divided among the three DENSO engineers; each will receive a medal and certificate.

Gallagher and Akatsuka are engineers at DENSO LA Labs in Vista, Calif., and Suzuki is based in Japan.

DENSO International America is the North American headquarters for DENSO Corporation, a leading global supplier of advanced technology, systems and components. Headquartered in Kariya, Aichi prefecture, Japan, DENSO employs 106,000 people in 32 countries and regions, including Japan. Consolidated global sales for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2006 totaled US$27.3 billion. DENSO common stock is traded on the Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya stock exchanges in Japan. In the Americas, DENSO employs 16,000 people at 38 companies with consolidated sales for the above fiscal year totaling US$5.8 billion.

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