September 28, 2021

By Tim Kelly

TOKYO (Reuters) – Toyota Motor Corp’s Silicon Valley investigate arm on Thursday explained it had acquired automotive running method computer software organization Renovo to support accelerate the development of fully-autonomous connected automobiles.

“I am hoping to shave off several years and months to our bare minimum feasible product launches,” James Kuffner, the head of Toyota’s Woven Earth subsidiary explained for the duration of a press briefing.

A for a longer period time period objective is to style and design software program and working units that other automakers would also use, the former Google robot engineer extra.

Toyota is in a technological race with other set up car corporations and newer rivals, these as Tesla Inc and Amazon, to make autos that can function with out drivers and share information inside related networks. While some driverless autos are currently offered, their autonomous capabilities are typically limited to parking and driving on expressways.

Toyota deployed a fleet of driverless cars at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Game titles to showcase its autonomous technological know-how. It experienced to briefly suspend functions, even so, right after just one of them struck and wounded a Paralympic athlete https://www.reuters.com/company/autos-transportation/toyota-halts-all-self-driving-e-pallete-motor vehicles-soon after-olympic-village-accident-2021-08-27 in an incident that Toyota chief Akio Toyoda reported confirmed the technological issues of autonomous cars.

U.S.-based Renovo has made an functioning methods for cars and trucks that manages car techniques and can form and filter details for sharing, including data that can aid carmakers boost auto style and design.

The most current acquisition by Woven World comes after it purchased Carmera in August, a U.S. firm that presents actual-time, higher-definition maps and knowledge for driverless vehicles.

Toyota proven Woven World in January to invest in and build mobility with artificial intelligence.

Japan’s primary carmaker is also developing Woven Town, a “city of the future” at the foot of Mount Fuji in Japan, a community Toyota says will use hydrogen fuel cells for electric power and be a laboratory for autonomous autos.

Earlier this calendar year, Toyota also bought trip-hailing provider Lyft Inc’s self-driving know-how unit for $550 million, and invested in Ridecell which provides automation for fleet organizations.

Other self-driving partnerships include things like a joint venture with SoftBank Corp and stakes in China’s Didi World Inc and Singapore’s Get.

(Reporting by Tim Kelly Editing by Ana Nicolaci da Costa)