Nov 28 2014
The Japanese firm is one of many domestic and foreign carmakers racing to develop technologies that could ultimately eliminate traffic fatalities and injuries. Some of the automakers, such as General Motors Co. of the United States and Japan's Nissan Motor Co., are even pursuing the goal of making self-driving cars. Toyota, for its part, has developed a prototype model featuring automated highway driving.
Toyota Motor Corp. Said Wednesdaythat it will start offering anti-collision, safe-driving packages for its cars next year, aiming to make them available for most of its passenger models within 2017 in Japan, North America and Europe.The packages, one for compact cars and another for midsized and luxury vehicles, combine a camera and radar to help prevent or mitigate collisions when vehicles are moving at a range of speeds, the world's biggest automaker said.Toyota did not list prices for the safety packages, saying instead that they will be offered at price levels low enough to "encourage widespread use."
The anti-collision, automatic braking system would work when a car is driving at a speed of between 10 and 80 kilometers per hour. Adopting a camera and millimeter-wave radar, another package, available from next summer for midsized and high-end models, boasts the ability to detect both pedestrians and vehicles ahead, in addition to the three features included in the more modest package.The same package also offers an automatic speed control that can keep a car at a certain distance from the vehicle in front.
Wednesday'sannouncement of the anti-collision, safe-driving packages will be a step toward a wider use of computer-assisted safe-driving systems, Toyota said, adding that such a move will benefit countries like Japan where the population is aging.Both packages integrate Toyota's existing technologies. The package for compact cars, scheduled to be launched next spring, uses a camera and laser radar to help prevent or mitigate collisions with objects ahead, keep the car from departing from its lane, and ensure optimal forward visibility during nighttime driving.
