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JAXA and Toyota consider collaboration on international space exploration

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The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and Toyota Motor Corporation have announced their agreement to consider the possibility of collaborating on international space exploration.

As a first step, JAXA and Toyota have reached agreement to further cooperate on and accelerate their ongoing joint study of a manned, pressurized rover that employs fuel cell electric vehicle technologies.

Such a form of mobility is deemed necessary for human exploration activities on the lunar surface.

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Toyota and Carmera partner on HD maps for automated vehicles

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Toyota Research Institute-Advanced Development, Inc. TRI-AD and Carmera, Inc. are joining forces to conduct a proof of concept on developing camera-based automation of high definition (HD) maps for urban and surface roads.

This is the first step towards making TRI-AD’s open software platform concept, known as Automated Mapping Platform, to support the scalability of highly automated driving, by combining data gathered from vehicles of participating companies to generate HD maps.

Automated driving requires highly reliable road information based on HD map data. While the creation of highway HD maps is under way, this coverage represents less than 1% of the worldwide road network.

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Toyota Safety Sense installed in 10 million vehicles

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The total global number of vehicles equipped with Toyota Safety Sense, the Toyota-developed preventive safety package, has reached the 10 million unit mark, after its March 2015 introduction.

It is anticipated that within this year, three million vehicles in Japan and five million vehicles in North America will have the package.

Toyota first introduced the package with the “Corolla” series, centered on the belief that popularising safety technology is vital.

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Toyota updates its virtual crash test dummy software

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Version 6 will contribute to the development of collision safety technologies for future vehicles, including automated

Toyota and its research and development unit has released Version 6 of the Total Human Model for Safety (THUMS) virtual crash dummy software.

Researched and developed for over 20 years by the two companies, THUMS simulates detailed computer analysis of human body injuries caused by vehicle collisions.

The new software features internal organ modeling and a new muscle model that simulates a variety of occupant postures, including braced and relaxed, permitting a more detailed analysis by anticipating various occupant postures as the widespread deployment of automated vehicles continues to advance.  [Read more…] about Toyota updates its virtual crash test dummy software

Toyota and SoftBank joint venture starts operations

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Toyota and SoftBank Corp. have completed investment in their joint venture, MONET Technologies Inc., and full-scale operations have begun.

MONET has three main business domains: on-demand mobility services;  data-analysis services; and Autono-MaaS (Mobility as a Service). The joint venture will first roll out on-demand mobility services.

On-demand transportation through regional partnerships and corporate shuttles will begin in fiscal year 2018 through cooperation with local public agencies and private companies.

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Toyota and Panasonic agree to set up automotive prismatic batteries joint venture

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Toyota and Panasonic Corporation have concluded a business-integration contract and a joint-venture contract toward the establishment of a new company (joint venture) related to the automotive prismatic battery business.

The details of the agreements are:

Toyota and Panasonic will establish a joint venture (pending approval from the competition-law authorities in the countries and regions concerned) by the end of 2020.

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Toyota Research Institute unveils P4 automated driving test vehicle

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Toyota Research Institute (TRI) showed the TRI-P4 automated driving test vehicle at CES last week. The P4 is based on the all-new fifth-generation Lexus LS flagship sedan and will be used in TRI’s two-track Guardian and Chauffeur automated driving system development.

The P4 has Lexus’ new generation of chassis and steering control technology, which provides greater agility and allows for more responsive and smoother manoeuvres during automated driving.

It has two additional cameras to improve situational awareness on the sides and two new imaging sensors―one facing forward and one pointed to the rear―specifically designed for autonomous vehicles. The imaging sensors feature new chip technology with high dynamic range.

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Toyota develops world’s first general-purpose hydrogen burner for industrial use

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Toyota Motor Corporation has developed the world’s first general-purpose hydrogen burner for industrial use in collaboration with Chugai Ro Co., Ltd. The burner is in use today at the forging line in Toyota’s Honsha Plant.

In conventional hydrogen burners, hydrogen reacts rapidly with oxygen, leading to a high flame temperature and environmentally hazardous NOx emissions.

On account of this, the practical use of hydrogen burners has proved challenging. The newly developed burners incorporate two new structures that enable hydrogen to combust more slowly.

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Pizza Hut and Toyota unveil pizza-making pickup truck

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Pizza Hut has joined forces with Toyota to develop the zero-emission Tundra PIE Pro, a mobile pizza factory with the ability to deliver oven-hot pizza wherever it goes.

The full-size-pizza-making truck was introduced at Toyota’s 2018 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show presentation.

The Tundra PIE Pro features a unique truck bed that has been converted into a virtual pizza factory on wheels—also known as “The Kitchen”—which contains a refrigerator, a pair of computer-guided robotic arms, and a portable conveyor oven.

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Toyota and SoftBank to set up new mobility services joint venture

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Toyota Motor Corporation and SoftBank Corp. have agreed to form a strategic partnership to create new mobility services, and plan to establish a joint venture company, MONET Technologies Corporation, before the end of the 2018 fiscal year (April 2019).

MONET will provide coordination between Toyota’s Mobility Services Platform, Toyota’s information infrastructure for connected vehicles, and SoftBank’s Internet of Things Platform, which was built to create new value from the collection and analysis of data acquired from smartphones and sensor devices.

By utilising a wide range of different forms of data related to automotive and human mobility on both platforms, MONET is aiming to optimise supply and demand in transportation and, ultimately, to launch Mobility-as-a-Service businesses capable of resolving social mobility issues and creating new value.

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