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The future is here
Toyota showcases new and emerging technologies
By Stacey Morrison
Thursday, October 30, 2003
TOKYO, Japan - Imagine a car that can park itself or a vehicle that can take on human-like behaviours, allowing it to "socialize" - ideas of the far off future? No longer are these bigger than life possibilities confined to the imagination; some are reality and others are on their way.
The redesigned 2004 Toyota Prius, for example, features Intelligent Park Assist, a system designed to help the driver steer the vehicle in reverse parking and reduce the number of times the driver tries to park. Available only in Japan, Intelligent Park Assist can parallel park or back the Prius into a parking space, with no hands-on steering from the driver.
How does it work? A camera takes measurements as the driver stops the Prius at the back-end of the vehicle ahead, parallel to the parking space. The driver then moves forward about five metres, shifts into reverse and uses a touch screen to set the parking position. The system generates a parking trajectory and calculates the steering angle and then, in a literal case of "look ma, no hands!", the car steers itself into the allotted space, with the driver providing braking action.
If the driver sets the incorrect parking position on the touch screen, doesn't brake properly or if the space you are trying to park in is too small, the Prius will not take evasive action - you will get bumper to bumper with the car ahead or behind you. If you touch the steering wheel while Park Assist is working, however, the action will be cancelled.
During a recent trip to Toyota's Higashi-Fuji Technical Centre, located outside of Tokyo, we were given a brief demonstration of Intelligent Park Assist in action. The system is remarkably easy to use and very precise. It is an exercise in trust to allow the car to park itself without interfering, and very eerie to watch the steering wheel move on its own. But each and every time the Prius parked itself accurately and between the lines - a passing grade from any driver training instructor! There are no plans to bring Intelligent Park Assist to North America, since we don't have the same parking shortage and cramped city streets like Tokyo and other major centres in Japan. But it has been quite a success since its debut in Japan in September. Over 85 per cent of Prius' sold have the option, which comes as part of a 230,000 Yen ($2,500 Cdn) package that includes a navigation system. A Toyota spokesman says in particular, elderly drivers who have difficulty parking and those who like the forward thinking of the system are lining up to purchase it.
Going beyond assisted parking, Toyota's PM concept car introduced at the Tokyo Motor Show is a one-person conveyance designed with state-of-the-art information technology to meet, link and hang out together in mobile groups - in other words, PMs are sociable machines.
Rather than driving the PM, the experience is closer to wearing one. The cabin is isolated from the wheels, allowing the PM to vary its posture according to speed or for easy entry and exit. For example, on the highway the cabin rakes back to drop the PM low to the ground for maximum stability at higher speeds, while in the city its posture is raised for better visibility.
LEDs on the door tips, antennae, headlamps, side and rear panels and rear wheels illuminate in accordance to different emotions, like a person, and change colour to express the current situation. You can communicate with friends in nearby PMs, similar to an Internet chat, and share information. Platooning is also possible, with one PM leading others, which follow on auto-pilot. Watch for a further evolution of the PM, called the "I-unit" to appear at Expo 2005, also to be held in Japan.
It seems the future is here, with new, interactive technology making its way into production cars and imaginative new possibilities appearing in the latest concept cars. It begs the question: What's next?
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