Toyota-Developed Automated Highway Vehicles to Debut in National Display
7 August 1997
Toyota-Developed Automated Highway Vehicles to Debut in National Display
SAN DIEGO, Aug. 7 -- As today's passenger cars become safer
and more fuel efficient, they're also becoming smarter. Toyota will
demonstrate the features of several automated cars it is developing at a
special public event to be held here August 7-10.
Sponsored by the National Automated Highway Systems Consortium, the
program will showcase what a number of automakers and universities are doing
to develop a network of "smart highway" systems for the future. It will
feature driving demonstrations, lectures and exhibits on what motorists can
expect in the 21st Century.
According to Scott Andrews, project general manager of the Intelligent
Transportation System Group for Toyota Motor Corp., Toyota has divided
automated driving functions into two groups: driver assist and automated
driving functions.
The driver assist function includes a lane departure warning system that
alerts the driver when the vehicle leaves the lane unintentionally without
signaling a lane change. The system corrects the vehicle's path if the driver
fails to respond to the lane departure warning. Also part of the driver
assist system, an adaptive cruise control system automatically sets the
following distance to the preceding vehicle, even if the cruise control is set
to a higher speed than the prevailing traffic.
Toyota also will demonstrate long-term systems that will require more
consumer acceptance and higher levels of technology. These automated driving
systems include a stop-and-go system that allows the vehicle to operate
partially autonomously in heavy traffic and a lane keeping system that guides
the vehicle within the lane without any driver input. They also feature
obstacle avoidance which steers the vehicle around obstacles in the lane,
cooperative vehicle following which allows similarly equipped vehicles to
safely operate at reduced following distances at relatively high speeds and
automatic emergency-stop braking to avoid or reduce the severity of collisions
when there is no way to steer around an obstacle.
"Unlike other companies' systems," said Andrews, "Toyota's vehicle
automation does not require a dedicated infrastructure such as magnets
imbedded in the road or special magnetic tape lane lines."
At the heart of the system is an advanced image processing system and
several laser range sensors. The laser sensors are used to measure the
distance and approach speed of obstacles or other vehicles on the road, as
well as measure the lateral separation from the guard rail barrier.
The imaging system uses a forward looking-camera to sense the road edges
and the vehicles ahead, and side cameras to sense the presence of vehicles in
the vehicle blind spot. Toyota has integrated these sensor systems with a
high-speed computer and electronically controlled steering, brake and throttle
actuators to make a complete automated vehicle.
While much of these vehicles' automation is still in the development
stage, it is possible that some of this technology will be available on Toyota
or Lexus vehicles in the future.
SOURCE Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.