|
"I
am hoping to shave off years and months to our minimum viable
product launches," James Kuffner, the head of Toyota's Woven
Planet subsidiary said during a press briefing.
A longer term goal is to design software and operating systems
that other automakers would also use, the former Google robot
engineer added.
Toyota is in a technological race with other established car
companies and newer rivals, such as Tesla Inc and Amazon, to
build cars that can operate without drivers and share data
within connected networks. While some driverless vehicles are
already available, their autonomous functions are mostly limited
to parking and driving on expressways.
Toyota deployed a fleet of driverless vehicles at the Tokyo 2020
Olympic and Paralympic Games to showcase its autonomous
technology. It had to temporarily suspend operations, however,
after one of them struck and injured a Paralympic athlete
https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/toyota-halts-all-self-driving-e-pallete-vehicles-after-olympic-village-accident-2021-08-27
in an incident that Toyota chief Akio Toyoda said showed the
technological challenges of autonomous vehicles.
U.S.-based Renovo has designed an operating systems for cars
that manages vehicle systems and can sort and filter information
for sharing, including data that can help carmakers improve
vehicle design.
The latest acquisition by Woven Planet comes after it purchased
Carmera in August, a U.S. firm that provides real-time,
high-definition maps and data for driverless vehicles.
Toyota established Woven Planet in January to invest in and
develop mobility with artificial intelligence.
Japan's leading carmaker is also building Woven City, a "city of
the future" at the foot of Mount Fuji in Japan, a community
Toyota says will use hydrogen fuel cells for power and be a
laboratory for autonomous cars.
Earlier this year, Toyota also bought ride-hailing service Lyft
Inc's self-driving technology unit for $550 million, and
invested in Ridecell which provides automation for fleet
businesses.
Other self-driving partnerships include a joint venture with
SoftBank Corp and stakes in China's Didi Global Inc and
Singapore's Grab.
(Reporting by Tim Kelly; Editing by Ana Nicolaci da Costa)
[© 2021 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2021 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
