Takayuki Kochi, project manager for Toyota, with the new driver information systems.
The Next Generation Vehicle Infrastructure Co-operation Service consists of sensors mounted on city streets that communicate with vehicles by radio. Vehicles would require an onboard unit to receive the data.
The information is particularly designed to help drivers in crowded urban streets whose visibility is obscured by large vehicles such as trucks or buses. Typical information would include warning drivers about to turn right – Japan drives on the left – of oncoming vehicles or pedestrians crossing the road.
The system also tells the driver when traffic lights are about to change to green, warning him to check his surroundings. It will also warn a driver approaching traffic lights if they are about to turn red and give information on the best moment to decelerate in order to minimise fuel consumption.
Toyota’s system also includes vehicle-to-vehicle communication, by which sensors would warn a driver attempting to turn at an intersection with restricted viewlines – because of parked cars or high hedges, for example – of approaching traffic.
