Toyota To Test Talking, Self-Driving Cars By 2020

Toyota Motor Corp. said on Monday it would start testing self-driving electric cars around 2020, which will use artificial intelligence (AI) to engage with drivers, as the company competes with tech firms to develop new vehicles.

The car, whose concept model was revealed earlier this year at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, will be able to converse with drivers, while building up knowledge of users' preferences, habits and emotions through deep learning, the company said. 

Concept-i, which was unveiled earlier this year, will be battery-powered and have a range of about 180 miles on a single charge.

"By using AI technology, we want to expand and enhance the driving experience, making cars an object of affection again," said Makoto Okabe, general manager of Toyota's EV business planning division.

Facing competition from rival automakers and tech companies to produce self-driving, intelligent cars, Toyota has committed $1 billion through 2020 to develop advanced automated driving and AI technology.

Ford Motor Co. earlier this year invested $1 billion in Argo AI, a start-up set up by former employees of Uber Technologies' self-driving car development team, to develop an on-demand self-driving car service. General Motors Co. has also been investing in AI start-ups.

Honda Motor Co and Softbank Corp. announced last year that they were teaming up to use humanoid robotic technology in cars to enable them to communicate with drivers.

Concept-i Model

The Concept-i model, a battery-electric car which will have a cruising range of 300 kilometers (180 miles) on a single charge, will be able to estimate the emotions and alertness of drivers by reading their expressions, actions and tone of voice.

Using this information, the vehicle will be able to take over driving responsibilities when necessary -- after assessing the driver is too tired to drive safely, for example -- and also interact with the driver and passengers.

Toyota's Concept-i series of models, on display at the show, is based on the Japanese word for "love," or "ai," which sounds like "I'' in English. The idea is that your car will become your friend, "more than a machine," said Toyota Motor Corp. manager Makoto Okabe.

Using cameras to analyze images of drivers' faces, a car can deduce if they are feeling happy or irritated. It might expand and contract a seat to simulate the rhythm of deep breathing to calm a driver who seems jittery, he said.

Facing a future where car ownership may be overtaken by new mobility services, automakers are ramping up investment to develop AI capabilities to enhance the driving experience.

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