As part of its continuing efforts to bring self-driving vehicle technology to the roads of the world, the (TRI) will be taking a next-generation Platform 3.0 automated driving vehicle to the (CES) in Las Vegas next week. And unlike some working autonomous prototypes we've seen in the last couple of years, this one actually looks pretty normal.
Instead of the sensors and cameras being mounted on attachments sticking out from the car, the TRI prototype has them incorporated into the body. The one tell-tale sign that this isn't a regular car is the bank of sensors on the roof. But even then, unlike the ungainly spinning LIDAR sensors we've seen in the past, this unit actually looks like a futuristic police light.
A Lexus LS600hL has been used as the starting point for Platform 3.0, and TRI brought in CALTY Design Research in Ann Arbor, Mich. and engineers from Toyota's nearby North America research and development center to conceal the equipment necessary for driverless operation.
The manufacturer claims Platform 3.0 is now one of the most perceptive autonomous-drive test vehicles currently operating on the road. The design of the Luminar LIDAR system has a 200-meter, 360-degree range, and is enabled by four high-resolution LIDAR scanning heads that mean it's better than previous systems for seeing and identifying dark objects.
Development is moving along at quite a pace as only last March, TRI first introduced Platform 2.0, which was its first driving platform developed in-house at the US institute. Then, just six months later, Platform 2.1 was unveiled.
Speaking to Automotive News, Toyota spokesman Rick Bourgoise said, "The message is, we're moving at a very rapid pace, and we're quickly developing. It's not a matter of how long; it's how quickly are we advancing our capabilities, technology and design."
Production is expected to commence in the spring, although the volume will be kept intentionally low.
Bourgoise explained, "It's intentionally low volume because of the pace at which we're accelerating and rapidly advancing. It doesn't make sense for us to make a large number of test vehicles when we know we're quickly advancing.
