Toyota Motor has confirmed that all of its self-driving e-Palette pods will resume operations at the Tokyo Paralympic Games village, with more safety personnel and improved operator control. Future safeguards and continuing communication with the organizing committee, according to the business, will assist ensure that its self-driving vehicles do not hit or injure any more people.
This comes after a self-driving Toyota e-Palette vehicle crashed with and wounded a visually challenged pedestrian, prompting Toyota to cease self-driving vehicle operations in the Olympic village on Friday. The athlete, who was hit by the pod at a speed of one or two kilometers per hour, was knocked out and sent to the athlete village medical center for treatment. Toyota stated that it is working with a local police inquiry into the accident’s specific cause, as well as conducting its own probe.
The event caused Akio Toyoda, the company’s CEO, to issue an apology via YouTube video. In addition to apologizing to the pedestrian who was injured in the collision, Toyoda stated in the video that he had offered to meet with the individual but was unable to do so.
Toyota also stated that the incident demonstrated how autonomous vehicles are not currently practical for use on public roads. There are still problems that such vehicles must solve in order to operate in unique situations, such as the Olympic village during the Paralympics, where individuals are blind or disabled.
The 2020 Toyota e-Palette is a self-driving battery-electric vehicle that was created specifically for the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games. The vehicle has huge doors and motorized ramps, making it easy for groups of athletes to enter and exit.
The e-Palette, a fully autonomous battery-electric vehicle, was customized for the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, including big doors and electric ramps to allow large groups of athletes to board rapidly.
According to a Toyota spokesperson, operators will now have discretion over how fast the vehicles move and will have two safety staff members onboard instead of one to keep an eye out for pedestrians. Warning sounds on e-Palettes will be enhanced, and pedestrian escorts at busy crossings in the athlete’s village will be expanded from six to twenty, according to the business, which is assisting a local police investigation into the accident.
