Toyota is the latest automotive manufacturer to test self driving cars on public roads with an aim to develop such vehicles by 2020.
The company has started testing its new automated driving vehicle, called Highway Teammate, to demonstrate the safety technology of autonomous vehicle.
Highway Teammate is a modified Lexus GS test vehicle that has already been tested on Tokyo’s Shuto Expressway during a series of maneuvering trials.
The test vehicle is equipped with technologies that enable it to drive on highways from the on-ramp to the off-ramp.
Similar to other self driving cars, it uses on-board technology to evaluate traffic conditions, and is capable of making decisions and take action during highway driving.
It uses road map data to navigate through the roads while the several external sensors installed in the vehicle help it recognise nearby vehicles.
Based on the data it receives from the sensors, the car automatically operates the steering wheel, accelerator, and brakes to achieve the appropriate speed and driving lines.
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Toyota highlighted that it is ramping up its research into and development of automated driving technologies, to launch the products based on Highway Teammate by around 2020.
According to Toyota, three types of intelligence that is crucial for the success of the Mobility Teammate Concept which includes Driving Intelligence, Connected Intelligence, and Interactive Intelligence.
Other carmakers like Daimler, Volvo, BMW, GM and Tesla are working on driverless vehicles while tech majors like Google have started testing driverless cars on public roads.
