| Last Monday, Toyota Motor Corp. unveiled a | | | | next April," said Takashi Yonekawa, a senior |
| new technology which the automaker claims to | | | | staff engineer at the centre. |
| be the world's true-to life driving simulator | | | | |
| with its safety features aimed at not just | | | | The project was completed in September and |
| reducing but eliminating traffic-related | | | | until the demonstration, Toyota never allowed |
| mortalities. | | | | reporters into the pod. The pod can also be |
| | | | seen via a glass pane in an adjacent room. |
| Toyota's demonstration was held at the | | | | Although the pod was not moving, the moving |
| Higashifuji Technical Center near Mt. Fuji in | | | | images which are a true-to life depiction of |
| Tokyo. Toyota's new safety equipment showed | | | | 64 km of road in a 6-square kilometer section |
| the participants composed of journalists on | | | | of the surrounding area, it was almost real |
| how it detects unusual driving behaviors like | | | | that the spectators felt nauseous. |
| drunkenness and drowsiness. | | | | |
| | | | On the same demonstration, Toyota also |
| The warehouse-sized structure features a | | | | introduced another safety technology based on |
| dome-shaped pod perched atop a turntable on a | | | | Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS). This |
| track that slides in all four directions at | | | | equipment uses global positioning system |
| angles of up to 25 degrees to mimic the | | | | receivers and sensors which give way to |
| sensation of accelerating, braking and | | | | communication between cars and road |
| turning in different directions. | | | | infrastructure, pedestrians or other cars to |
| | | | reduce collisions. |
| The new Toyota facility measures 4.5 meter | | | | |
| long and 7.1 meter wide that can be installed | | | | Also, according to Toyota Managing Officer |
| in any vehicle model. The simulator is lined | | | | Takashi Shigematsu, their domestic rivals, |
| on the inside with a screen showing a moving, | | | | Honda Motor Co. (also makes genuine Acura |
| wrap-around view of the outside environment | | | | body parts) and Nissan Motor Co. are working |
| that gives the driver and his passengers the | | | | on the same equipment. The three largest |
| chimera of traveling. | | | | automakers are expecting to test their |
| | | | products next year. |
| Other leading automakers like Honda Motor Co. | | | | |
| and Daimler Ag have also developed similar | | | | Auto safety equipments are now the added |
| technology but it seems like Toyota has the | | | | spice to which automakers appeal to their |
| edge. Toyota's product has the longest range | | | | consumers. Toyota Motor Corp. is taking it |
| of 35 meters from front to back and 20 meters | | | | seriously and on the lead in the safety race. |
| from right to left says Toyota engineers. | | | | Last year, the biggest Japanese automaker |
| | | | equipped its Lexus LS460 with a pedestrian |
| "It still needs some fine tuning, but we aim | | | | detection system. |
| to start putting it to use in earnest from | | | | |