Toyota @ 2016 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) Press Conference - Bob Carter
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2016 Consumer Electronics Show (CES)
Las Vegas, Nev.
Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2016
Bob Carter
Toyota Motor Sales
Senior Vice President, Automotive
Operations
Good afternoon everyone. Thank you all for joining us.
In just a few minutes it will be my pleasure to introduce Dr. Gill Pratt,
the CEO of the new Toyota Research Institute…which, by coincidence,
officially opens for business later this month.
Many of you are probably aware of Dr. Pratt’s work in
artificial intelligence and robotics when he was the
project manager of the DARPA Robotics challenge.
And what in the world, may I ask, does that have to do… with selling
Camrys and Tacomas?
The auto industry announced its 2015 sales results today, and more vehicles
were sold in the U.S. last year than at any other time in history.
Over 17.5 million cars and trucks.
But the industry is seeing more than just historic sales numbers.
We’re seeing rapid evolution in what customers are looking for in
their products.
Today, the car business is being transformed at an astonishing rate.
For the last 100 years,
- the car has played the role of a functional tool,
- responding
- to our human needs and input.
That relationship has forever changed.
Not only can cars see things and react quicker than humans…
- they are becoming intelligent.
In fact, we now find ourselves at a point
- where perhaps the most important focus of all…
- may be on what is often called…
- the driver-vehicle interface.
In truth, it should more aptly be called… the driver-vehicle relationship.
People relate to electronic devices socially. They build strong bonds with them. And like any human-to-human connection, they have an emotional effect on people.
If you have any doubt about what I just said, I give you Exhibit A….your smart phone.
Be honest… How long does it take to experience
- that feeling of panic
- when you realize you do not have your smart phone in your possession…
- and have no idea where you left it.
- of creating a true inter-relationship between the driver…
- and an intelligent vehicle.
And it will have a profound effect…
- on saving more and more lives on the highway.
As the car becomes more intelligent, it can perform higher levels of driver assist, when needed.
Like teammates, the intelligent car and driver are learning from each other. They watch, listen and remember. They adapt. They communicate. And they assist, when needed.
Over time, a foundation of TRUST is built.
And as trust is built,
- more tasks can be shared or re-assigned.
Together, these teammates are building
- a common situational awareness
- of their driving environment.
Toyota’s vision of future mobility
- includes two important pathways
- that must be travelled simultaneously.
- no matter their physical limitations
- via the future adoption
- of fully autonomous technologies
- importantly including personal robotics
As Dr. Pratt will describe, it is the goal of the TRI
- to accelerate machine learning,
- allowing more and more functions to be assigned to the car---
- when needed---to avoid a crash.
- it will be possible to save more and more lives along the way.
- ALL of our 5600 patents related to hydrogen fuel cell technology…
- accumulated during more than 20 years of development…
- of our Mirai hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle.
If you believe in saving the planet
- from smog forming pollutants and greenhouse gases,
- you do everything you can
- to get to zero emissions
- as quickly as possible.
- more than 30,000 lives a year in the U.S. by creating cars incapable of causing a crash,
- you start exploring ways to work together as an industry
- and get this technology to market as quickly as possible.