Honda’s Autonomous Work Vehicle Is Helping Humans, Not Replacing Them

Honda will be bringing an interesting exhibit to CES 2019 (January 8-11), a prototype off-road vehicle named the Autonomous Work Vehicle.

The name tells you pretty much everything you need to know about this small 4×4 vehicle. It’s designed to work alongside humans by performing tasks that are too dangerous or difficult for us.

An evolution of the 3E-D18 self-driving ATV unveiled at CES 2018, the Autonomous Work Vehicle was designed by Honda R&D Americas by combining the automaker’s all-terrain vehicle (ATV) chassis and emerging advanced autonomous technology. Honda says the Autonomous Work Vehicle is aimed at enhancing efficiency and safety for public, commercial, and consumer enterprises.

For example, it can be used to support people in industries such as firefighting, search and rescue, construction, agriculture, landscaping, and snow removal, with the GPS and sensor-based autonomy capable of guiding the prototype in almost any environment.

The Autonomous Work Vehicle comes with a rail accessory mount system for a wide range of accessories and attachments, as well as on board power plug-ins. Given its compact size and off-road capabilities, the self-driving vehicle can be used virtually anywhere, from dense forests to urban pedestrian zones.

Honda says it can be programmed in different modes (“Follow Me”, “Pattern” and “A to B”) to accommodate a range of applications. So far, the company has beta-tested the Autonomous Work Vehicle in three different environments, including a large-scale solar operations company in North Carolina, a wildland firefighting division in Colorado, and an agricultural research facility in California.

Honda will reveal the results of these real-world tests at CES 2019. Until then, check out the videos to see the multitude of tasks the autonomous ATV is capable of completing.