When Toyota Motor Corp launches its all-battery Lexus next year, the luxury model will be able to drive autonomously on highways, a big step for the Japanese automaker, which has so far trailed rivals in bringing self-driving cars to market.
%20and%20self-driving%20cars,%20paring%20back%20development%20targets%20after%20fatal%20accidents%20in%20Tesla%20Inc%20cars%20have%20shown%20the%20complexity%20of%20the%20technology./ppRight%20now,%20component%20manufacturers%20and%20venture%20companies%20working%20on%20the%20technology%20“are%20revising%20their%20timeline%20for%20AI%20deployment%20significantly”,%20executive%20vice-president%20Shigeki%20Tomoyama%20said%20this%20week./ppWhile%20a%20href='https://safetravel.co.za/tag/toyota/'%20target='_self'%20rel='follow'%20title='Toyota'Toyota/a%20is%20using%20the%20motor%20show%20to%20tout%20its%20push%20to%20become%20a%20“future%20mobility%20company”,%20showcasing%20futuristic,%20AI-based%20driving%20companions%20and%20miniature%20delivery%20robots,%20on%20the%20sidelines,%20Tomoyama%20injected%20a%20dose%20of%20reality%20about%20the%20pace%20of%20developing%20future%20cars./pp“Right%20from%20the%20get-go,%20we%20figured%20it’s%20going%20to%20be%20a%20time-consuming%20endeavour,”%20he%20said.%20“There’s%20no%20particular%20need%20to%20rethink%20the%20time%20frame%20for%20our%20AI%20self-drive%20technology%20investment%20and%20development.”/ppNext%20year,%20a%20href='https://safetravel.co.za/tag/toyota/'%20target='_self'%20rel='follow'%20title='Toyota'Toyota/a%20will%20release%20its%20first%20so-called%20“Level%202″%20autonomous%20car,%20capable%20of%20driving%20itself%20on%20the%20highway,%20“from%20entrance%20to%20exit,%20with%20traffic%20merging%20capability”,%20Tomoyama%20said./ppOther%20automakers%20already%20market%20“Level%202″%20cars,%20but%20a%20growing%20number%20are%20pushing%20out%20their%20schedules%20to%20develop%20future%20autonomous%20technologies,%20citing%20the%20high%20hurdle%20to%20clear%20before%20enabling%20cars%20to%20perform%20more%20driving%20tasks./ppNissan%20Motor%20Co%20has%20also%20abandoned%20an%20earlier%20in-house%20target%20to%20develop%20cars%20which%20can%20drive%20themselves%20on%20city%20streets%20by%202020.%20At%20the%20moment,%20its%20cars%20are%20able%20to%20drive%20on%20highways%20and%20park%20autonomously./ppTo%20develop%20the%20more%20advanced%20“Level%203″%20hands-free%20automated%20driving%20technology,%20Nissan%20will%20need%20at%20least%20until%20the%20late%202020s,%20Tetsuro%20Ueda,%20an%20expert%20at%20Nissan’s%20mobility%20service%20research%20centre,%20said%20this%20month./ppstrongHuge%20complexities:/strong/ppGerman%20automaker%20Volkswagen%20AG%20is%20also%20grappling%20with%20the%20size%20of%20the%20challenge./pp“We%20really%20thought%20at%20the%20beginning%20it%20would%20be%20just%20maybe%20next%20year%20or%20so,”%20said%20Aria%20Etemad,%20a%20project%20manager%20at%20Volkswagen%20Group%20Research.%20“But%20as%20we%20dig%20into%20that%20topic,%20we%20see%20huge%20complexities%20that%20we%20are%20facing.”/ppTesla%20is%20a%20notable%20exception%20to%20the%20cautious%20view.%20CEO%20Elon%20Musk%20told%20investors%20on%20Wednesday%20that%20Tesla%20could%20release%20software%20to%20enable%20“fully%20functional%20full%20self-driving”%20capability%20by%20the%20end%20of%20this%20year./ppHowever,%20Musk%20qualified%20that%20by%20saying%20cars%20would%20still%20need%20to%20be%20“supervised”%20by%20a%20human%20driver.%20By%20the%20end%20of%20next%20year,%20Musk%20said%20Tesla%20hopes%20to%20release%20autonomous%20driving%20software%20“reliable%20enough%20that%20you%20do%20not%20need%20to%20pay%20attention”.%20But%20he%20added,%20“acceptance%20by%20regulatory%20authorities%20will%20vary%20by%20jurisdiction”./ppIt’s%20not%20just%20car%20manufacturers%20that%20are%20tempering%20expectations.%20Singapore,%20a%20pioneer%20for%20practical%20testing%20of%20autonomous%20vehicles,%20has%20struck%20a%20more%20cautious%20tone./pp“We%20are%20not%20in%20a%20rush%20to%20be%20the%20first%20adopter,”%20Khaw%20Boon%20Wan,%20the%20transport%20minister,%20said%20this%20week.%20“I%20look%20forward%20to%20a%20larger-scale%20adoption%20of%20AV%20(autonomous%20vehicle)%20technology%20in%20Singapore,%20but%20I%20think%20this%20will%20not%20be%20in%20the%20near%20future.”/ppThe%20comments%20surprised%20industry%20experts,%20who%20view%20Singapore%20as%20the%20ideal%20test%20bed%20for%20driverless%20vehicles,%20given%20its%20wealth,%20small%20size%20and%20top-notch%20infrastructure.%20The%20city%20state%20has%20even%20created%20a%20test%20zone%20for%20driverless,%20vehicles%20with%20traffic%20lights,%20bus%20stops%20and%20a%20rain%20simulator./pp“If%20Singapore%20is%20saying%20this,%20then%20maybe%20other%20governments%20will%20follow%20suit,”%20said%20Hussein%20Dia,%20professor%20of%20future%20urban%20mobility%20at%20Swinburne%20University%20in%20Melbourne,%20Australia./pp“Whatever%20comes%20out%20of%20Singapore,%20the%20world%20watches%20and%20listens,”%20he%20added,%20referring%20to%20its%20driverless%20expertise./ppstrongMotion%20testing:/strong/ppGeneral%20Motors%20Co’s%20self-driving%20unit,%20Cruise,%20said%20earlier%20this%20year%20it%20was%20delaying%20the%20commercial%20deployment%20of%20cars%20past%20its%20target%20of%202019,%20as%20more%20testing%20of%20the%20vehicles%20was%20required./ppIn%20GM’s%20case,%20unexpected%20technical%20challenges,%20including%20the%20difficulty%20for%20cars%20to%20identify%20whether%20objects%20are%20in%20motion,%20are%20requiring%20the%20company%20to%20take%20more%20time%20and%20caution%20to%20develop%20its%20technology,%20sources%20have%20said./ppThe%20Japanese%20components%20maker%20Denso,%20a%20href='https://safetravel.co.za/tag/toyota/'%20target='_self'%20rel='follow'%20title='Toyota'Toyota/a‘s%20biggest%20supplier,%20believes%20it%20will%20take%20years%20for%20the%20technology%20for%20fully%20self-driving%20cars%20to%20hit%20the%20roads.%20For%20now%20it%20is%20working%20towards%20developing%20cars%20that%20can%20accelerate%20and%20brake%20on%20their%20own%20with%20driver%20monitoring./pp“The%20most%20difficult%20aspect%20of%20developing%20these%20driving%20systems%20is%20to%20anticipate%20unexpected%20movements%20in%20the%20vehicle’s%20surroundings,”%20said%20Hajime%20Kumabe,%20head%20of%20Denso’s%20engineering%20R&D%20centre%20in%20Tokyo./pp …/p%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20/div%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20footer%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20div%20class=)
When Toyota Motor Corp launches its all-battery Lexus next year, the luxury model will be able to drive autonomously on highways, a big step for the Japanese automaker, which has so far trailed rivals in bringing self-driving cars to market.
