The concept of self-driving cars has been the subject of several automakers’ research and development in recent years. To further address safety issues and efficacy, Toyota is creating a “guardian angel” that will co-pilot the car.
The new technology by Toyota may make potential drivers of self-driving vehicles feel more at ease, since they do not completely surrender control over the wheel. The “backup driver” involves a partially autonomous system that can substitute the driver and man the wheel at certain times.
While other car companies are aiming to feature full substitutes for human drivers, Toyota’s concept involves having an invisible “guardian angel” sit beside the driver. This guardian angel will only take over to prevent untoward incidents, similar to a driving teacher, Digital Trends notes.
“In the same way that antilock braking and emergency braking work, there is a virtual driver that is trying to make sure that you don’t have an accident by temporarily taking control from you,” Gill Pratt said, CEO of the Toyota Research Institute (TRI).
The new system will reportedly take over the steering wheel temporarily only during potentially dangerous situations, according to Engadget. Based on previous research, drivers take at last eight seconds to regain control of a vehicle that was previously fully autonomous. The new “guardian angel” system can activate only to avoid collisions, which will make up for the eight-second delay and potentially avoid accidents and save lives.
The MIT Technology Review says that the new “guardian angel” feature is currently being developed at TRI.The institute started its tests in 2015 after receiving a $1 billion grant to boost its efforts in autonomous driving, robotics and artificial intelligence. Tests will soon be conducted at a TRI location near Mt. Fuji in Japan.
Simulations are also expected to be conducted at Toyota research facilities in the United States. More testing will be done at three TRI facilities in the U.S. The Japanese automaker is required to accumulate 1 trillion worth of road tests to gain clearance for eventual commercial production of the “guardian angel” feature.
Some of the issues that Toyota has to overcome with the “guardian angel” include setting it to determine when and how to react and take over. Pratt added that they also intend to observe how human driers will respond as soon as the vehicle takes control temporarily, based on its judgment.
Toyota’s “guardian angel,” if fully developed, would be another step towards actual production of self-driving cars. More updates and details are expected soon.
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