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