Mazda Motor Corp. plans to release a car in 2022 featuring technology that can safely bring the vehicle to a stop on the roadside and make an emergency call if the driver falls asleep or becomes incapacitated.
The Mazda Co-Pilot system will be able to detect when it needs to intervene judging from the driver's posture and line of sight.
The vehicle will automatically honk the horn and flash its indicators if the driver has lost control, according to the automaker, while taking over and bringing the car to a safe stop.
Mazda unveiled in June the concept of the co-pilot system. The automaker then revealed on Thursday that a model equipped with the driver monitoring system that enables the car to automatically change lanes on an expressway will be launched in 2025 or later.
"We aim (for the car) to protect (the driver) and ensure safety like an aircraft's co-pilot," said Takahiro Tochioka, who is responsible for the system's development.
