Toyota has become the latest car manufacturer to break into the exciting self-drive market, having offered a glimpse of the future ahead of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week. The firm has posted a video clip of a Lexus fitted with safety features that are designed to reduce the likelihood of car crashes.
A spokesperson from Toyota explained that the innovative prototype features on-board radar and video cameras to monitor the road, as well as equipment to communicate with other cars. "We're looking at a car that would eliminate crashes," the spokesman explained. "Zero-collisions is our ultimate aim."
The prototype is also fitted with an "Intelligent Transport Systems" (ITS) technology. And the spokesman at Toyota explained that the "advanced active safety research vehicle" prototype uses ITS and is able to monitor whether the driver is awake, to keep the car on the road.
What's more, he said that while the technology is designed to be used in conjunction with a driver, the car can actually control itself. "Not the Jetsons yet," Toyota tweeted earlier this week, "but our advanced active safety research car is leading the industry into a new automated era."
The firm has also successfully developed technology that lets a car communicate with a driver's smartphone to offer augmented reality features.
Do you see self-drive cars as the future of the automobile industry, or are firms like Toyota underestimating the enjoyment of driving?