Mitsubishi Electric Automotive America Signs Agreement with Seeing Machines to Promote Guardian Generation 3 Driver Monitoring Technology Across the Americas

MASON, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mar 3, 2025--

Mitsubishi Electric Automotive America, Inc. (MEAA), a leader in advanced automotive electrical and electronic systems, today announced it has signed a Referral Agreement with Seeing Machines Limited to promote Seeing Machines’ Guardian Generation 3 driver monitoring solution across the Americas.

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This collaboration marks a significant step to enhance road safety by expanding the reach of Guardian Generation 3, an AI-powered system designed to detect and mitigate driver distraction and fatigue in commercial vehicles.

Following Mitsubishi Electric Mobility Corporation’s strategic investment in Seeing Machines in December 2024, this agreement leverages MEAA’s extensive aftermarket distribution network and customer relationships in the transport and logistics industries.

Guardian Generation 3 is an aftermarket driver monitoring system (DMS) that uses advanced computer monitoring technology to track signs of distraction and drowsiness in real time. The system alerts drivers locally through visible and audible warnings, as well as haptic feedback via a vibration unit installed under the seat. In critical situations, the technology goes a step further—capturing event-based footage and transmitting it to a live monitoring center, where trained analysts can intervene within seconds by contacting fleet managers or designated personnel. Unlike continuously monitored in-cab cameras, Guardian only records when a safety event is detected, addressing privacy concerns while providing fleets with crucial risk mitigation data.

This agreement with Seeing Machines aligns with our purpose to provide cutting-edge technologies that support safer, more efficient commercial vehicle operations,” said Masahiro Kaji, President and CEO of MEAA. “Guardian Generation 3 is a game-changer in driver monitoring. By utilizing our well-established distribution network, we are excited to bring this solution to fleet operators across the Americas. We believe the more Guardian units there are on the roads, the safer they will be for everyone.”

With increasing global regulations on driver monitoring technology, like those mandated in the European Union, Guardian Generation 3 is well-positioned as a proactive solution for fleets across the Americas looking to enhance safety, reduce liability, and improve operational efficiency.

Guardian Generation 3 will be showcased at MEAA’s booth (#938) at the Technology & Maintenance Council (TMC) Annual Meeting March 10-13 in Nashville, Tenn., providing attendees with an opportunity to see the technology in action.

For more information on Guardian Generation 3 and MEAA’s agreement with Seeing Machines, contact info@meaa.mea.com

About Mitsubishi Electric Automotive America, Inc. (MEAA)

Mitsubishi Electric Automotive America, Inc. was established in 1979 to serve the North American automotive, heavy-duty truck and coach business. Mitsubishi Electric Automotive America offers a wide range of products and services, including passenger entertainment systems, car navigation systems, screens, head units, amplifiers, and powertrain products such as starters and alternators. Additional information is available at www.meaa-mea.com

About Mitsubishi Electric Corporation

With more than 100 years of experience in providing reliable, high-quality products, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (TOKYO: 6503) is a recognized world leader in the manufacture, marketing and sales of electrical and electronic equipment used in information processing and communications, space development and satellite communications, consumer electronics, industrial technology, energy, transportation and building equipment. Mitsubishi Electric enriches society with technology in the spirit of its “Changes for the Better.” The company recorded a revenue of 5,257.9 billion yen (U.S.$ 34.8 billion*) in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2024. For more information, please visit www.MitsubishiElectric.com

*U.S. dollar amounts are translated from yen at the rate of 151=U.S.$1, the approximate rate on the Tokyo Foreign Exchange Market on March 31, 2024

Mitsubishi Electric Automotive America, Inc. (MEAA) and Seeing Machines Limited representatives. MEAA has signed a Referral Agreement with Seeing Machines Limited to promote Seeing Machines’ Guardian Generation 3 driver monitoring solution across the Americas. (Photo: Business Wire)

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Federal officials on Thursday gave final approval for the Dakota Access oil pipeline to continue operating its contentious Missouri River crossing, an outcome that comes nearly a decade after boisterous protests against the project on the North Dakota prairie.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ decision to grant the key easement means the pipeline will keep operating but with added conditions for detecting leaks and monitoring groundwater, among others. The announcement brings an end to a drawn-out legal and regulatory saga stemming from the protests in 2016 and 2017, though further litigation over the pipeline is likely.

The $3.8 billion, multistate pipeline has been transporting oil since June 2017 from North Dakota’s Bakken oil field to a terminal in Illinois. The line carries about 4% of U.S. daily oil production, or roughly 540,000 barrels per day,

The Corps is “decisively putting years of delays to rest and moving out to safely execute this crossing beneath Lake Oahe," Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Adam Telle said in a statement.

The pipeline crosses the river upstream from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s reservation, which straddles the Dakotas. The tribe has long opposed the pipeline, fearing a spill and contamination of its water supply. In 2016 and 2017, thousands of people camped and protested for months near the river crossing.

The protests resulted in hundreds of arrests and related criminal cases and lawsuits, some of them still ongoing, including litigation that threatens the future of the environmental group Greenpeace.

In December, the Corps released its final environmental impact statement nearly six years after a federal judge ordered a more rigorous review of the pipeline's crossing. In that document, the Corps endorsed the option to grant the easement for the crossing and keep the pipeline operating with modifications.

Those measures include enhanced leak detection and monitoring systems, expanded groundwater and surface water monitoring and third-party expert evaluation of the leak and detection systems, among others, the Corps said. The conditions also include water supply contingency planning and other studies coordinated with affected tribes.

The Corps had weighed several options, including removing or abandoning the pipeline's river crossing or even rerouting it north. The agency said its decision “best balances public safety, protection of environmental resources, and leak detection and response considerations while meeting the project’s purpose and need.”

Pipeline developer Energy Transfer hailed the decision, saying the pipeline has been safely operating for nearly 10 years and is critical to the country’s energy infrastructure.

“We want to thank the Corps for the tremendous amount of time and effort put in by so many to bring this matter to a thoughtful close,” said Vicki Granado, a company spokesperson.

The Associated Press sent text messages and emails to media representatives for the tribe and left a voicemail at the tribe's headquarters. They didn't immediately respond Thursday.

North Dakota Republican Gov. Kelly Armstrong, Interior Secretary and former North Dakota governor Doug Burgum and U.S. Senators John Hoeven and Kevin Cramer each welcomed the decision to ensure the pipeline continues operating.

The Corps' announcement came as officials and oil industry leaders were gathered for a trade conference in Bismarck.

Energy Transfer and Enbridge are in early stages of a project to move about 250,000 daily barrels of light Canadian crude oil through the Dakota Access Pipeline by using another pipeline and building a 56-mile connecting line, spokespersons for the companies said. Enbridge will decide sometime in mid-2026 whether to move ahead.

FILE - A sign for the Dakota Access Pipeline is seen north of Cannonball, N.D. and the Standing Rock Reservation on May 20, 2021. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)