Today’s cars make those from just a couple of decades ago look like caveman-transport. It’s no wonder, with more and more emphasis being placed on advanced safety and communication systems. But if you think cars are advanced now, just wait. At its testing facility in Shizuoka Prefecture, in central Japan, Toyota recently demonstrated what the near future of vehicle safety could look like.
Furthering pedestrian detection, a test car began beeping at the sight of a test dummy, and a picture of a person popped up on a screen in front of the driver. An arrow can pop up to indicate an approaching car at an intersection. If you’re about to pass a red-light, a female voice says “it’s a red light.” This is advancing basic sensor technology that is already offered in many newer cars today, and helps a driver process the environment around them in a more distinct way. Most surprising of all, Toyota hopes to begin testing this technology on public roads in Japan as early as 2014. Currently, all of the testing is being conducted at the testing facility. We recently reported that Ford was teaming up with the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, to challenge students to create applications that would utilize in-car technologies. Ford is using Ann Arbor, Michigan, as a test market for the latest in its vehicle to vehicle communication and advanced technology systems.
Source: Detroit Free Press
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