Toyota hopes its new technology will prevent accidents on the road (Credit: AP).
SUSONO, Japan (AP) - Toyota Motor Corp. is testing car safety
systems that allow vehicles to communicate with each other and with the
roads they are on in a just completed facility in Japan the size of
three baseball stadiums.
The cars at the Intelligent Transport System site receive information
from sensors and transmitters installed on the streets to minimize the
risk of accidents in situations such as missing a red
traffic
light, cars advancing from blind spots and pedestrians crossing the
street. The system also tests cars that transmit such information to
each other.
In a test drive for reporters Monday, the presence of a pedestrian
triggered a beeping sound in the car and a picture of a person popped up
on a screen in front of the driver. A picture of an arrow popped up to
indicate an approaching car at an intersection. An electronic female
voice said, "It's a red light," if the driver was about to ignore a red
light.
The 3.5 hectare test site looks much like the artificial roads at
driving schools, except bigger, and is in a corner of the Japanese
automaker's
technology center near Mount Fuji in Shizuoka Prefecture, central Japan.
Toyota officials said the smart-car technology it is developing will be
tested on some Japanese roads starting in 2014. Similar tests are
planned for the U.S., although details were not decided. Such technology
is expected to be effective because half of car accidents happen at
intersections, according to Toyota.
Managing Officer Moritaka Yoshida said Toyota sees preventing
collisions, watching out for pedestrians and helping the driving of the
elderly as key to ensuring
safety in the cars of the future. "We offer the world's top-level technology," he told reporters.
All automakers are working on pre-crash safety technology to add value
to their cars, especially for developed markets such as the U.S., Europe
and Japan. But the strongest sales growth is coming from emerging
markets which are eventually expected to show more interest in safety
technology.
Toyota's Japanese rival
Nissan
Motor Co. recently showed cars that were smart enough to stop on their
own, park themselves and swerve away from pedestrians who suddenly
jumped into the vehicle's path.
Toyota also showed a new feature that helps the driver
brake
harder to prevent bumping into the vehicle in front. Toyota officials
said drivers often fail to push hard on their brakes in such situations
because they get into a panic.
Toyota said the technology will be available "soon," without giving a date, and hinted it will be offered for
Lexus luxury models. Luxury models already offer similar safety features
such as automatic braking. Technology involving precise sensors remains
expensive, sometimes costing as much as a cheaper Toyota car.
Toyota has also developed sonar sensors that help drivers avoid crashing
in parking lots. One system even knows when the driver pushes on the
gas pedal by mistake instead of the brakes, and will stop automatically.
Rear-end collisions make up 34 percent of car accidents in Japan,
comprising the biggest category, followed by head-on collisions at 27
percent.
Cars that stop and go on their own, avoiding accidents, are not pure science fiction, experts say.
Alberto Broggi, professor at the University of Parma and an expert on
intelligent transportation systems, said the idea of the accident-free
cars is "very hot," and probably within reach on some roads within
several years.
"I'm sure we will arrive to such a technology even if I don't know when exactly," he said.
