At CES, Toyota will demo a new mapping system that uses data from cameras and GPS sensors on production vehicles to create highly precise maps needed for autonomous driving. The data is collected in real-time at a low cost. The necessary cameras and GPS technology will be included in Toyota’s cars in 2020.
Until now, map data for automated driving has been collected using specially-built vehicles equipped with three-dimensional laser scanners which is expensive and does not collect data frequently. Toyota’s newly developed system uses “automated cloud-based spatial information generation technology (developed by Toyota Central R&D Labs., Inc.) to generate high precision road image data from the databanks and GPS devices of designated user vehicles.”
Toyotas will collect road images and vehicle location data that is sent to data centers, where it is automatically pieced together, corrected and updated to generate very detailed road maps that cover a wide area.
This data which includes road layouts and traffic rules is necessary for self-driving technologies. Dividing lines, curbs, and other road characteristics are also important for autonomous driving.
Errors can be mitigated using image matching technologies that integrate and correct road image data collected from multiple vehicles which equate to a margin of error of only 5 cm on straight roads.
Toyota plans to include this system as a core element in automated driving vehicles that will be made available in production vehicles by around 2020.
At first the mapping system will be limited to expressways. In the future, features will cover ordinary roads and assist in hazard avoidance.
Toyota will collaborate with mapmakers for high precision map data in services offered by both the public and private sectors.
In October 2015, Toyota introduced the Mobility Teammate Concept, which is part of the company’s approach to embracing automated driving technologies while keeping fun at the center of the driving experience.
<iframe width=”640″ height=”360″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/56RNDP3hD-8″ frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen></iframe>