Toyota, one of the world’s largest automakers, recently announced a partnership with Pony.ai, a Silicon Valley-based autonomous driving company, to ‘mass produce’ robotaxis in China.
This partnership is part of a larger push for Toyota into the world of autonomous vehicles. The company is placing an emphasis on expanding its efforts in this field, applying its “Kaizen” philosophy of continuous improvement to robotics and autonomous driving technologies.
Robotaxis are self-driving cars specifically designed to carry passengers, and Pony.ai will use its AI technology to develop a fleet of these vehicles in China. The fleet will be based on the Toyota Corolla hybrid sedan and will be used to transport passengers between airports, business districts, and residential areas, as well as, provide a fuller range of transportation options for people with disabilities.
The technology for the fleet of robotaxis, which is ready for deployment by the end of 2021, will combine both sensor-based technology as well as artificial intelligence to provide fully autonomous operation. Robotaxis are generally considered safer than regular cars, and the partnership between Toyota and Pony.ai provides a huge step forward in making them commercially available.
In addition to the new autonomous driving project, Toyota is investing extensively in other areas of robotics and AI research, such as robotics nursing care, assisted living, industrial safety, logistics, and micro-mobility, to name a few.
This partnership marks an important milestone in the development of robotaxis, and Toyota and Pony.ai will continue to develop autonomous driving technology in the future. The partnership is sure to deepen as the companies collaborate to ensure the widest possible deployment of self-driving taxis and other robotics products on the market.
It’s an exciting time for autonomous vehicles, and the partnership between Toyota and Pony.ai is a big step forward for the industry. It’s clear that autonomous driving is here to stay, and with this partnership, Toyota and Pony.ai are taking a major step to ensure robotaxis become part of our everyday lives.
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