And if reporter Roberto Baldwin's experience is any indication, the future of autonomous driving looks pretty smart – not to mention like an absolute blast.
WATCH: Reporter @strngwys shares his experience as a participant in the #PriusChallenge at Sonoma Raceway: https://t.co/6e0yipQ6n7 pic.twitter.com/MNgmRhWBfD
— TRI (@ToyotaResearch) March 7, 2017
What began at Toyota’s technical center in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 2005 became its first patents in 2006, and now, according to a 2016 report by Thomson Reuters's Intellectual Property and Science division, the automaker holds quite the number of field patents. That field is that of autonomous vehicles, and at the March 3, 2017 Prius Challenge, Toyota showed us a new, advanced safety research vehicle developed by Toyota Research Institute (TRI) on a new, second-generation Lexus LS 600Hl-based platform, both plug-and-play and flexible enough for frequent and continuous upgrade. And these, with an expanded sensor array and some serious autonomous tech, called Chauffeur and Guardian, that will enable the intelligent vehicle to improve its smarts over time.
The idea is to explore the full implications of autonomous driving, and the multilevel LIDAR, radar and camera setup looks to really hit the gas on improving machine vision and learning in order to reduce reliance on high-definition maps, which should be excellent for traversing mapped and off-the-beaten-path areas alike. The Chauffeur system is an always-deployed, fully autonomous geo-fencing system, while Guardian's high-level driver assist functionality alertly monitors driving environments, keeping the driver informed thereabout and activating in the event of crash avoidance assistance needs.
Pretty cool, huh? We at Dick Poe Toyota think so. Toyota plans to deploy these curios over time in Lexus and Toyota vehicles, with the automaker's Automatic Emergency Braking system also appearing standard on most U.S. models and trims by the end of 2017, so stay tuned, and while you're on the lookout, stop by and take a spin in one of our extensive lineup of 2016 and 2017 Toyota Prius, Prius c or Prius v models to experience what a smart, and eco-friendly, ride can mean for you.
