Toyota launches new AI lab in US, calls autonomous cars 'robots on wheels'
- 614improject
- Feb 8, 2016
- 2 min read
The creation of the Toyota Research Institute, announced in November 2015, is a 5-year, $1 billion investment devoted to AI—focusing on the development of autonomous car technology and personal-assistant robots.
The Toyota Research Institute will be based near MIT. Although the company is based in Japan, it is a global brand, and most of its cars are sold in the US.
Many car companies have already invested heavily in factory robots, but now companies like Toyota are investing heavily in autonomous driving. One reason is to meet the needs of customers over the long-term. "What are the needs that human beings are going to have in the next few years?" asked Pratt. Since Toyota is a Japanese company, and demographics are quickly moving to a large percentage of the population being elderly, creating assistant robots will help the elderly "live a dignified life," said Pratt. "We want to focus on mobility for both people and for goods, indoors as well as outdoors."
Some of the recent innovations that have contributed to autonomous driving include:
Mobile phones: explosive growth, low powered computer processors, computer vision chips and cameras, inexpensive.
Wireless internet: the rise of 4G networks and WiFi have made it much easier to connect
Computer centers in cars: most new cars have back-up cameras, front and back sensors, and technology that helps drivers detect objects in the environment.
Maps: Google maps and navigation systems have become very good.
Deep Learning: computers now have perception at levels of competence close to what a human being can do. The car can use cameras to tell the difference between bicycles, people walking, trees, and parking meters for example.
Safety remains the top concern and greatest challenge to Toyota as it develops autonomous driving cars. Toyota plans to release their own semi-autonomous car by 2020, but believes a fully-autonomous vehicle is actually several years off beyond 2020.
Reference:
Article Title: Toyota launches new AI lab in US, calls autonomous cars 'robots on wheels' - TechRepublic
Publication Date: January 28, 2016
Website Title: TechRepublic
Comments