Photo: Toyota
Toyota’s booth at the 2019 Tokyo Motor Show was themed “Mobility Park” and, among the concepts it introduced, there was also the e-Palette pod. All-electric and autonomous, it was deemed the perfect vehicle for public transport and urban mobility.
Of the concepts presented then, the e-Palette was also the one that was actually being further developed. Toyota said a Level 4 pod would hit the streets in the Olympic Village in Tokyo, with the 2020 edition of the Olympic Games. We all know how awful 2020 turned out, so the Games were postponed until this year. As we speak, the Paralympic Games are underway.
On Friday, one of these e-Palette pods hit a pedestrian as it was making a turn. The pedestrian, who was a blind athlete scheduled to compete on Saturday, was hospitalized and eventually discharged after the medical checkup, but Toyota has still decided to sideline the pods until further notice. According to CEO Akio Toyoda, the carmaker is working with the authorities in the ongoing investigation, Reuters reports.
The e-Palettes are not designed to travel at high speeds, even when they do finally achieve Level 5 autonomy, which will mean they will operate on their own, without a human operator to take over when something goes bad. For Level 4, they’re meant to travel at a max speed of 19 kph (11.8 mph), with a range of 150 km (83.2 miles), and seating for 20 passengers (including the human operator), or for 7 passengers standing and 4 wheelchairs.
According to Toyoda, the pod involved in the incident was making a turn at 1 or 2 kph (0.6-1.2 mph) when it hit the pedestrian. The human operator was in control at the joystick, too. Still, Toyoda says “that autonomous vehicles are not yet realistic for normal roads,” let alone for the “special circumstances of the village.”
Toyoda has also offered apologies and promised that Toyota was working to prevent such incidents from happening, while working with the local authorities.
On Friday, one of these e-Palette pods hit a pedestrian as it was making a turn. The pedestrian, who was a blind athlete scheduled to compete on Saturday, was hospitalized and eventually discharged after the medical checkup, but Toyota has still decided to sideline the pods until further notice. According to CEO Akio Toyoda, the carmaker is working with the authorities in the ongoing investigation, Reuters reports.
The e-Palettes are not designed to travel at high speeds, even when they do finally achieve Level 5 autonomy, which will mean they will operate on their own, without a human operator to take over when something goes bad. For Level 4, they’re meant to travel at a max speed of 19 kph (11.8 mph), with a range of 150 km (83.2 miles), and seating for 20 passengers (including the human operator), or for 7 passengers standing and 4 wheelchairs.
According to Toyoda, the pod involved in the incident was making a turn at 1 or 2 kph (0.6-1.2 mph) when it hit the pedestrian. The human operator was in control at the joystick, too. Still, Toyoda says “that autonomous vehicles are not yet realistic for normal roads,” let alone for the “special circumstances of the village.”
Toyoda has also offered apologies and promised that Toyota was working to prevent such incidents from happening, while working with the local authorities.
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