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Toyota aims to build autonomous car around 2020 [w/videos]

The race is on to get increasingly sophisticated forms of autonomous driving technology on the road, and brands like Tesla are bringing these solutions to some drivers now. But as one of the world's largest automakers, it's no surprise to see Toyota competing in the field, as well. By 2020, the company thinks a person could be largely unnecessary for freeway trips. With a suite of tech called the Highway Teammate, a modified Lexus GS is already showing what's possible. Using a combination of millimeter wave radar, LIDAR, and cameras, the GS gets a full view of the road, and software processes all of the info to make decisions. The result is a ride on the freeway without human interaction. The system can merge, change lanes, make passes, take curves, and maintain a safe distance from other vehicles. Accurate map data is a necessity to make this work, so the system currently only being tested on Tokyo's Shuto Expressway. While Highway Teammate might not be the best name, it accurately communicates the way Toyota thinks of the tech. The company is making big investments in artificial intelligence to assist drivers, not completely replace them. You can see the system in action in the video below, and the second clip's gravely serious narrator explains the company's idea of having a fully connected road someday. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. New Toyota Test Vehicle Paves the Way for Commercialization of Automated Highway Driving Technologies Toyota City, Japan, October 6, 2015-Toyota has been testing a new automated driving test vehicle called Highway Teammate, with the aim of launching related products by around 2020. In addition to demonstrating the capabilities of next-generation safety technologies, the vehicle represents Toyota's view of the evolving driver-car relationship in the age of artificial intelligence. Toyota believes that interactions between drivers and cars should mirror those between close friends who share a common purpose, sometimes watching over each other and sometimes helping each other out. Toyota refers to this approach as the Mobility Teammate Concept, and Highway Teammate represents an important first effort to give form to this concept.

Physical and virtual gaming worlds collide in Lexus IS Hybrid promo

This is really, really cool. In order to promote its new IS Hybrid, Lexus borrowed an airplane hangar, a former Formula One driver and what we imagine was some serious technological knowhow to create one of the most interesting games we've ever seen. It's called Trace Your Road.
Lexus invited some of its Facebook fans out for the game, which put them in the passenger seat of a Lexus IS Hybrid with former F1 shoe Jarno Trulli. They were then handed a tablet and asked to trace out a road, which was projected onto the floor of the hangar. Trulli had to follow the ever-changing path as his passenger kept on tracing away. It looks like it'd be an absolute riot.
This is probably the coolest automotive promotional video since Audi strapped paintball guns on a couple of RS4s. Take a look below to watch the full video from Lexus. We promise, it's worth two minutes of your time.

Lexus reveals LF-NX crossover concept for Frankfurt

Compact luxury crossovers are becoming big business for upscale automakers. Mercedes is slotting the new GLA beneath the GLK, BMW has the X1 below the X3, Audi has downsized from the Q5 to the Q3, and Lexus is keen to get in on the game. And to that end, Toyota's luxury division is coming to the Frankfurt Motor Show this year with the concept crossover you see here.
Previewed a couple of weeks ago with an enigmatic teaser, the LF-NX concept, in the company's own words, "explores the potential for a compact crossover within the Lexus model range." The latest adaptation of the "L-finesse" design language could be the sharpest and most stylistically Japanese we've seen yet, with the sharp creases of the signature spindle grille repeated all around for a razor-sharp look. Lexus only released one shot of the cabin, but it looks as sharp as the exterior and, while clearly stylized, looks essentially more production-ready than most show cars.
Lexus hasn't revealed much about the powertrain, saying only that it incorporates "a new variant of the Lexus Hybrid Drive system tuned for SUV performance." Whether it actually has an engine that Lexus will detail at the show remains to be seen, but you can delve into the press release below for more and scope out the five images released thus far in the gallery above for a closer look.