Toyota equips autonomous car with more compact computer for more trunk volume

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The Toyota Research Institute has unveiled a new iteration of its autonomous driving concept vehicle. The TRI-P4 is equipped with a compact, vertically placed computer in the trunk.

The vertical placement and the flatter design, among other things, ensure that there is more space for luggage in the trunk. The computer box can be laid flat to make the components accessible. According to Toyota, the computer of the Platform 4 TRI test car is more powerful than the Platform 3 variant shown last year, without the manufacturer providing details about the computer system. With the TRI-P3, the computer box, as with many other autonomous cars, still took up a large part of the trunk space.

The TRI-P4 (left) and the P3

The computer now draws its power from the vehicle’s hybrid battery. In last year’s model, the system still received electricity from its own 12V battery. It now serves as a backup. The TRI-P4 also has two additional cameras on either side and two new image sensors with HDR support on the front and back. The lidar still consists of eight scanning modules: four on the roof and one on each side of the vehicle. The modules on the roof now protrude less high.

The test car is based on a Lexus LS 500h. Toyota will be showing the TRI-P4 at CES in Las Vegas next week. Automakers are working on prototypes of autonomous driving vehicles in the run-up to their commercial availability. Toyota is using the vehicle to test its two autonomous driving systems: Guardian, which still focuses on the human driver, and Chauffeur, for fully autonomous driving. It is not known when Toyota plans to offer autonomous driving vehicles commercially.

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