Next-Gen Lexus Autonomous Tech Headed to 2020 Olympics
Current and future Lexus autonomous systems set to dazzle on the world’s biggest stage.
When it comes to dazzling spectacles, few events compare to the Olympic games. So it only makes sense that Toyota, a top sponsor of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, would use the opportunity to do something truly special on its home turf. And according to a top company exec, that means showing off some impressive next-generation Lexus autonomous technology.
“We want to show a high-spec technology as a showcase,” Ken Koibuchi, Toyota’s executive general manager in charge of autonomous driving, told Automotive News at a recent event. That showcase will include not only the automaker’s next-gen autonomous systems debuting in cars like the 2018 Lexus LS, but also prototypes of future technology coming in the next decade.
The timeline coincides with Toyota’s goal of having Level 4 autonomous vehicles on public streets by the early 2020s. And the automaker sees the 2020 Olympics as the perfect setting to convince the public that it’s ready to do just that. Plus, the lightly traveled, mostly straight roads near the Odaiba waterfront are a perfect place to show them off.
Japan is also working feverishly to map its roads in anticipation of the self-driving revolution. Koibuchi expects most highways to be completed by 2020. However, city streets present a much more difficult endeavor. The cost of lidar, a necessity for completely autonomous driving, presents another hurdle. But costs are falling quickly.
Until then, Toyota is focusing on automated tech that requires drivers to be ready to take control. At the moment, they’re in a literal arms race with the likes of Nissan and Honda. Both of whom expect to have autonomous cars on the road by 2020 and 2025, respectively. But neither has the opportunity that Toyota and Lexus hold. And that is the opportunity to wow the world on one big global stage.
