This Toyota Concept Wants to Make an Emotional Bond with You
It seems that artificial intelligence (AI) will eventually find its way into our vehicles and Toyota is showing how it might work.
At the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Toyota rolled out the Concept-i, a car that looks like something Apple would have designed. But unlike other high-tech vehicle concepts, Toyota’s latest isn’t a fully autonomous vehicle. In fact, the concept demonstrates the automaker’s view that vehicles of the future should start with the people who use them. With that in mind, Toyota equipped the Concept-i with a powerful AI that is capable of learning with the driver, building a relationship that is both meaningful and human. The AI Agent is nicknamed “Yui” and is designed to communicate across cultures to a global audience.
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The concept itself is designed by Toyota’s CALTY Design Research in Newport Beach, California and features user interface experience technology development from the Toyota Innovation Hub in San Francisco. According to the Japanese automaker, it was created around the philosophy of “kinetic warmth,” a belief that mobility technology should be warm, welcoming and fun.
2017 Consumer Electronics Show Coverage
The AI takes advantage of advanced automated vehicle technologies to help improve driving safety, combined with visual and haptic stimuli to augment communication-based on driver responsiveness. In other words, users can choose between automated or manual driving based on their personal preference and the concept will monitor driver attention and road conditions, increasing automated driving support when necessary.
“At Toyota, we recognize that the important question isn’t whether future vehicles will be equipped with automated or connected technologies,” said Bob Carter, senior vice president of automotive operations for Toyota. “It is the experience of the people who engage with those vehicles. Thanks to Concept-i and the power of artificial intelligence, we think the future is a vehicle that can engage with people in return.”
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