Toyota starts testing self-driving ride-hailing fleet

Toyota Motor has started to test an autonomous ride-hailing fleet in Texas. This is done in partnership with a US-based automatic driving systems developer by the name of Aurora Innovation Inc.

The Toyota Sienna with autonomous driving tech from Aurora Innovation Inc. [Photo: Aurora Innovation Inc.]

Specifically, this project uses a fleet of Toyota Sienna minivans that are kitted out with the self-driving system from Aurora. The said ride-hailing service is currently traveling around the Dallas and Fort Worth areas in Texas.

The self-driving Siennas are being tested on highways at highway speeds, as well as on suburban roads. But while it is dubbed as “autonomous”, two safety operators are present inside the car at all times.

Of note, the said autonomous driving system fitted onto the aforementioned Toyota Sienna units are the same systems found on Aurora’s Class 8 trucks. These trucks were tested earlier by Aurora and are intended for logistics purposes.

Interestingly, logistics and passenger mobility are two different markets that each have different needs and requirements. Then again, Aurora is aiming that its system will be transferable across different markets. This of course, is a “competitive edge” against other similar companies like Waymo, and maybe even Tesla.

As mentioned above though, the Aurora/Toyota self-driving Sienna units are still under testing and are not yet available for use by the public. Aurora has also announced that it is now on the cusp of deploying driverless vehicles in San Francisco. The company however, is yet to announce when this will happen.

The Aurora Innovation trucks together with their Toyota Sienna

Can you imagine driverless transport services here in the Philippines? With how seemingly chaotic our roads are at times though, we are convinced that it will be a while for any company to have the confidence to test their units in the local market.

Do note however, that traffic in Dallas or even San Francisco can sometimes be disorderly as well. So maybe with a few tweaking, further testing, and maybe also faster obstacle detection systems,  we will get to see this level of technology in the local setting in the future.

On the other hand, Subaru Philippines does have some models with the EyeSight 4 tech. These come with auto centering, which already counts as some degree of driving automation. Not full-on, hands-off automation mind you.

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