Toyota launches research projects

Toyota has announced the expansion of its partner-based automotive safety initiative with the launch of seven new research programs, which will be performed in conjunction with leading research institutions from across North America. The new programs are being undertaken with four new partners: Stanford University, University of Toronto, University of California San Diego and Ohio State University. The new projects will build on the Toyota Collaborative Safety Research Center’s (CSRC) efforts to help reduce the risk of driver distraction and help better protect vulnerable traffic populations, including children, teenagers, senior citizens and pedestrians.

The seven new initiatives represent a broad expansion of Toyota’s research into the interaction between drivers, vehicles and the traffic environment, as well as a new, more comprehensive effort to understand teenage driver behavior. The projects bring the CSRC’s total research portfolio of joint research programs to 26, which are spread across 16 research institutions and agencies in North America. Consistent with the Center’s overall research focus, the new projects examine the interaction of vehicle technology with drivers, study the ability of technologies to support driver awareness and behavior, and track the causes of brain injuries in teenagers.

The projects will include such diverse elements as: a driver/vehicle interface for a partially intelligent vehicle (PIV); the development of new advanced driving assistance systems (ADAS) for older drivers; test procedures for Lane Departure Warning (LDW) and Lane Departure Prevention (LDP) systems; and distracted-driving behavior. “We are excited to welcome our new research partners, whose important work may ultimately benefit other automakers and safety professionals,” said Chuck Gulash, director of the CSRC. “Through our unique ‘open source’ research model and our commitment to sharing the company’s talent, technology and data with a broad range of institutions and agencies, we hope to drive new innovations and understanding that will benefit not just Toyota drivers, but everyone on the road.”

14 September 2012