Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. It is my great pleasure to welcome all
of you here to our booth today.
"For cars you love."
This message, which is included in our TV commercials shown in Japan, reflects
our commitment to contribute to the creation of an advanced automotive society,
where people, cars, and the environment can coexist in harmony. We envision an
automotive society where drivers, pedestrians, and children can enjoy the fulfillment
and consideration that vehicles offer.
As you look at the world's automotive industry, expanding markets in countries
such as China, India, Russia, and Brazil are concerned about the environmental
impact of exhaust emissions and the increasing number of traffic accidents in
the world.
In our four key development areas: environment, safety, comfort and convenience,
we believe that society has high expectations, especially in recent times, for
vehicles that are environmentally friendly and safe. To meet these expectations,
we will further concentrate on environment and safety and continue our commitment
for an advanced automotive society.
Today, I will concentrate on DENSO's current initiatives in these two priority
areas and on the future directions of our technology.
First, I would like to talk about our environment initiatives.
Protecting the environment is our most important consideration in all our
business practices, and our environmental vision ― "DENSO EcoVision" ―
sets forth our commitment to environmental management in all our company activities
including product development, production, distribution, procurement, and information
disclosure.
In product development, our efforts target the prevention of global warming,
reduction of environmentally hazardous substances, and preserving clean air.
Now, I would like to introduce some of DENSO's latest technologies that help
prevent global warming by reducing CO2 emissions.
The first is our energy management systems. For example, gasoline engines
use only about 20 percent of the fuel energy to power the vehicle. As much as
80 percent of this energy is lost or not used for driving. At this moment, DENSO
engineers are researching and testing technologies to reduce this energy loss.
The energy wasted includes thermal energy, which is released externally through
the radiator and kinetic energy, which is lost during deceleration and idling.
In terms of thermal energy, DENSO is developing a system to convert wasted
heat from the engine to electricity. In addition, we are enhancing our thermal
storage system to improve cold engine start characteristics, and provide better
fuel efficiency and cleaner emissions.
As far as making better use of kinetic energy, we are improving our technology
to convert deceleration energy into electricity.
DENSO has a wide variety of core technologies in areas of powertrain, thermal,
electric, electronic, information and communication. We have accumulated many
technologies, knowledge and expertise in these fields. By improving and integrating
these core technologies, we are accelerating the development of energy management
systems.
Now, I would like to turn your attention to our key systems and products for
hybrid, diesel, and gasoline engines.
First, I would like to discuss our products for hybrid vehicles. The public
has shown great interest in the environmental friendliness of hybrids, particularly
in Japan and the United States, and the demand for such products has been growing.
DENSO is on the leading edge of developing hybrid technology. In 1997, we
began supplying hybrid products, including battery electronic control units and
DC-DC converters for the Toyota Prius, the world's first mass-produced hybrid
car. After these, we followed with a number of advanced products such as our
hybrid control computer and electric compressor.
In May, we introduced a high-output power control unit, which includes inverters,
to drive the main traction motors. Featuring DENSO's unique cooling structure
for semiconductor devices, this new power control unit raises output power by
approximately 60 percent over conventional technology.
For diesel-powered vehicles, we currently provide a 180 Mega Pascal (MPa)
diesel common rail system featuring the world's highest fuel-injection pressure.
Next year, we plan to commercialize a higher-pressure, 200 MPa common rail system.
Our new 200 MPa system achieves the world's highest fuel-injection −up to nine
accurate injections per combustion cycle, providing more complete combustion.
For the consumer that means better performance and greater fuel efficiency, and
for the earth that means cleaner emissions and fewer greenhouse gases.
For gasoline-powered vehicles, it is now clear that the direct fuel injection
system effectively reduces CO2 emissions. The market for these systems is expected
to roughly triple to 4.8 million units by 2010. Since 1996, DENSO has been offering
pumps and injectors for direct fuel injection systems. We will continue to pursue
even greater fuel efficiency by reducing the size and weight of our products.
In summary, DENSO supplies innovative technologies for all three major power
sources ― hybrid, diesel, and gasoline ― to meet the needs of our customers.
Now, I would like to highlight our commitment to safety.
DENSO has made it our mission to help develop vehicles that minimize damage
to vehicle occupants and pedestrians in the event of a collision, as well as
vehicles not in any danger of collisions. To achieve these goals, we are developing
products and technologies in two distinct areas of driving safety: "passive
safety" for minimizing damage in the event of a collision; and "active
safety" for warning and avoiding possible collisions.
Systems in the area of passive safety include a pre-crash safety system that
retracts the seat belts and provides brake assistance to slow the car as rapidly
as possible if the system senses an imminent and unavoidable collision. For the
Lexus LS460 introduced last year, DENSO developed several key components such
as a stereo image processing ECU, millimeter-wave radar, and seatbelt ECU, and
contributed to realize an advanced pre-crash safety system that can more accurately
identify position and movement of obstacles including pedestrians.
In the area of active safety, we have developed, with cooperation from car
manufacturers, such systems as adaptive cruise control systems and lane-keeping
assist systems, which assist the driver in recognizing and understanding driving
conditions and in driving the vehicle. DENSO also has developed systems such
as the world's first adaptive front-lighting system that moves the headlamps
left and right according to the driving direction to improve visibility at curves,
and the night vision system, which helps drivers see pedestrians and obstacles
in darkness.
To further enhance active safety and reduce traffic accidents, we are developing
technologies to monitor drivers' physical conditions and recognize vehicle surrounding
conditions, and combinations of such technologies.
Technologies to monitor the driver's condition include face recognition, gaze
detection, and blinking measurement. These technologies monitor the direction
of the driver's gaze and the eyelid position through image recognition processes
on photos of the driver's face taken by a cockpit camera. Our goal is to determine
inattentive conditions or drowsiness of drivers.
For the recognition of the environment surrounding the vehicle, we are committed
to developing sensing technologies incorporating a laser radar, a millimeter
wave radar, a camera, and wireless communications. We are also researching and
developing image recognition technology to identify obstacles from photos; road-to-vehicle
and vehicle-to-vehicle communication technologies that send data detected by
devices set on roads to vehicles, and enable vehicles to communicate with each
other; and image conversion technology to convert the images sent externally
or from on-board cameras into images that the driver can easily recognize.
Here at the Tokyo Motor Show, we are presenting a cockpit demonstrator that
can detect the driver's gaze. I invite you to try out this innovative technology.
DENSO enjoys three competitive advantages: First, as a comprehensive manufacturer
of automotive components, we can develop systems from a vehicle perspective.
Second, we can develop cutting-edge technologies through fusion of our advanced
technologies and high skills. And third, as a global company with 220 locations
worldwide, we can manufacture and supply products that meet the unique needs
of each region.
By taking advantage of these three strengths, DENSO is contributing to the
creation of an advanced automotive society where people can feel a sense of happiness
and fulfillment.
Thank you for your kind attention.
