Toyota Motor Corp. announced it plans to produce cars that are fully capable of self-driving on highways by 2020, as it demonstrated its “automated driving” systems in Tokyo today.
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Toyota’s “mobility team-mate concept” expects the vehicle and the driver to work as a team.
In the demonstration, a Lexus drove itself within the 60kph (37mph) speed limit for about 10 minutes, changing lanes, braking and steering.
“We were afraid that by using the term ‘automated driving, ‘ people would misunderstand that humans are not involved at all”, Masahiro Iwasaki, an engineer working with the technology, told the Journal.
The face-lifted Crown sedan unveiled in the domestic market last week was the world’s first vehicle to use ITS technology, Toyota said. In addition to demonstrating the capabilities of next-generation safety technologies, the vehicle represents Toyota’s view of the evolving driver-car relationship in the age of artificial intelligence.
By successfully combining recognition and decision-making processes with the ability to take action, Highway Teammate embodies the kind of safety technology that is expected to play a key role in future products.
Chief safety technology officer Moritaka Yoshida said automated driving technology is suitable for highway driving, but not yet ready to be used on roads with pedestrians and bicyclists.
“We have spent a long time to develop the technology”. So far, the track record of self-driving cars has been strong, but testing has largely been done in controlled environments. The system, called ITS Connect (Intelligent Transportation System), will help the vehicles communicate with one another on the road, thus decreasing the likelihood of a collision. It provides warning to the driver in the form of an image on the dashboard and a beeping sound.
The self-driving vehicle has become the latest technology of interest in the auto industry.
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In Japan, accidents at intersections account for about 40% of all crashes.
