KARIYA (Japan) ― DENSO Corporation has taken a stake in Metawave Corporation, a U.S. startup company that develops cutting-edge, millimeter-wave radar sensing technologies to detect vehicles and pedestrians. Metawave announced on May 15, 2018, it raised an additional $10 million from DENSO, Toyota AI Ventures, Hyundai Motor Company, and other strategic investors.

DENSO will harness Metawave’s technologies to accelerate the development of a smart automotive radar system for autonomous cars. Metawave has the core technologies for expanding radar detection range, improving recognition performance and reducing size.

To create a safe future of mobility, DENSO has been working to develop sensors that serve as vehicles’ “eyes.”  Radar, a critical component found in nearly all autonomous cars, drastically improves the vehicle’s ability to recognize near-by conditions and objects.

A millimeter-wave radar sensor detects surrounding conditions using radio waves in the millimeter-wave band. The sensors are used in the radar systems to apply the brakes when a collision is unavoidable, and keep a certain distance from a preceding vehicle when driving. DENSO’s millimeter-wave radar sensors are used in Toyota’s Alphard and Vellfire models, which were released in January 2018 in combination with a vision sensor for recognizing vehicles and pedestrians.

DENSO develops technologies and products to build a safe and secure future of transportation for all people around the world. The goal is to create a society free from traffic accidents.

DENSO Corp., headquartered in Kariya, Aichi prefecture, Japan has more than 220 subsidiaries  in 35 countries and regions (including Japan) and employs approximately 170,000 people worldwide. Consolidated global sales for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2018, totaled US$48.1 billion. Last fiscal year, DENSO spent 8.8 percent of its global consolidated sales on research and development. DENSO common stock is traded on the Tokyo and Nagoya stock exchanges. For more information, go to www.denso.com, or visit our media website at www.denso.com/global/en/news/media-center/