Nissan North America Inc. says its Infiniti division will offer in its cars later this year lane-departure warning technology from Iteris Inc.

The software-driven system is integrated into a small unit consisting of a camera and onboard computer that's set into the overhead console behind the rear-view mirror. It's activated when a vehicle reaches 40 mph. The unit's camera tracks visible lane markings in the road and continually feeds the information into the unit's computer. The system alerts drivers if they drift out of their lane. By using the turn signal, a driver indicates to the system that a planned lane departure is intended. If a driver fails to use the turn signal and the car veers into another lane, an alarm sounds through the stereo speakers.

Valeo SA, a $10 billion global automotive supplier, is manufacturing the system for passenger cars. Iteris will continue to serve the heavy truck market directly. It's a smaller, higher-margin niche market with opportunities for sales of about 500,000 units per year, says Francis Memole, senior VP of in-vehicle systems at Iteris. "The potential market for passenger cars through Valeo in North America, Europe, and Japan is approximately 38 million cars per year," he says.

Nissan is the first car manufacturer to offer the lane-departure warning system with optical sensor in the United States. The technology will become an option in Infiniti's FX crossover sport-utility 2005 models. FX models with the technology are expected to arrive in U.S. dealer showrooms this fall. The technology also will be available as an option in the M45 performance luxury sedan, scheduled to hit showrooms in the spring.

Iteris developed the vision-based lane-departure warning technology to help address the nation's largest cause of automotive-related highway fatalities--unintended lane changes caused by distracted or drowsy drivers. These drivers are responsible for causing more than 1.5 million automobile accidents and 23,000 deaths annually, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.