Infiniti, Subaru and Mercedes-Benz have been revealed as this year’s 2019 Innovation Award winners.
The announcement was made by the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC) at the Canadian International AutoShow in Toronto, Ont.
“The Innovation Awards now recognize safety, environmental awareness and technology,” said Mark Richardson, President of AJAC. “This is an opportunity to recognize the very best and most innovative examples of new automotive products available to Canadian drivers.”
The winners fall under the following categories:
- Best Green Innovation:
- Infiniti — for the VC-Turbo engine:
- described as one of the most advanced internal combustion engines to have been created.
- Infiniti — for the VC-Turbo engine:
- Best Safety Innovation:
- Subaru — for DriverFocus:
- a camera and facial recognition software used to monitor fatigue or lack of attention from the driver (like an automated co-driver).
- Subaru — for DriverFocus:
- Best Technical Innovation:
- Mercedes-Benz — for Mercedes-Benz User Experience (MBUX):
- this system uses artificial intelligence to adapt to the user as it attempts to create “an emotional connection between the vehicle, driver and passengers.” Augmented reality technology and intelligent voice control with natural speech recognition are some of the features used to adapt to the user.
- Mercedes-Benz — for Mercedes-Benz User Experience (MBUX):
AJAC members nominated 30 different automotive innovations in 2018, and selected nine auto journalists to review the entries and short list them. In October, the judges met with the finalists (a manufacturer representative) of the entries that made it into the final around.
