MHI-MS Receives an Order for Millimeter-Wave Suppression Equipment from the Japan Automobile Research Institute -- Contributing to Automobile Development by Leveraging Extensive Experience in Test Equipment Integration Technology --

Tokyo, September 12, 2023 - Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Machinery Systems, Ltd. (MHI-MS), a part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) Group, has received an order for millimeter-wave suppression equipment from the Japan Automobile Research Institute (JARI) for installation in the Specific Environment Area in Tsukuba City, Ibaraki Prefecture within JARI's Automated Driving Test Center (Jtown)(Note1). The order was received through a public bidding process conducted by JARI to procure equipment. MHI-MS will design, manufacture, deliver, install, and test the equipment -- which will suppress vehicle-mounted millimeter-wave radar detections caused by structural components within the Specific Environment Area building that interfere with test evaluations -- by the end of December 2023.

The millimeter-wave suppression equipment will be used in research and development connected with "electric vehicle simulation infrastructure," one of the themes of the "Green Innovation Fund Project/Development of In-vehicle Computing and Simulation Technology for Energy Saving in Electric Vehicles" project set up by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO). It will be installed within the Specific Environment Area building in Jtown, which JARI established in 2016.

The Specific Environment Area is an indoor facility. Consequently, when testing and evaluating millimeter-wave radar mounted on test vehicles, a problem arises in that numerous radar detections are caused by radar wave reflections coming from pillars, beams, and other structural components. These detections interfere with the test evaluation. MHI Group is working on technologies for analyzing and controlling radio wave environments within buildings to evaluate the environmental impact on advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS). Applying these technologies as millimeter-wave suppression equipment will suppress the occurrence of test evaluation-affecting radar detections caused by the reflection and scattering of millimeter waves from structural components of the Specific Environment Area, thereby making more precise evaluation of vehicles' safety performance possible.

MHI-MS has a strong record of delivering low-noise aerodynamic wind tunnels (aerodynamics, temperature, ground effect simulation, and natural wind simulation) required for the development of automobile and aircraft test pieces, as well as crash test equipment, vibration test equipment, and driving simulators required for the development of passive safety technologies(Note2) for automobiles. In addition, MHI-MS and other MHI Group companies are developing an indoor integrated environmental testing facility enabling high-precision testing of automated driving systems (ADS) under freely chosen natural environments and driving conditions and a "testing and verification system for highly automated vehicles" that enables comprehensive verification in virtual environments.(Note3) MHI Group will apply the integration technology cultivated through these development undertakings to the millimeter-wave suppression equipment.

As part of its growth strategy, MHI Group is working to develop businesses in the area of "smart infrastructure." By providing products that support the development of automotive OEMs and sensor manufacturers, MHI Group will contribute to the realization of a safe and secure next-generation mobility society.

• 1Visit the following website for more on the Japan Automobile Research Institute's Automated Driving Evaluation Center (Jtown).
  https://www.jari.or.jp/en/test-courses/jtown/
• 2Among safety technologies in the design and operation of machinery and equipment, "passive safety technologies" refers particularly to those that minimize impacts on the human body in an accident or other abnormal situation.
• 3See the following press release for more on the MHI Group's ongoing effort to develop a "testing and verification system for highly automated vehicles."
  https://www.mhi.com/news/21091602.html