Toyota LQ, Image/Toyota
Toyota concept vehicle, LQ, combines automated driving capabilities and “Yui,” a powerful artificial intelligence-powered interactive agent which learns from the driver and delivers a personalized mobility experience” to create an “emotional bond between car and driver.” The LQ has been around for awhile, at least in concept, and originally debuted at the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show. Recently LQ’s last stop was the “Future Expo” special exhibition of the 2019 Tokyo Motor Show.
What makes this car so special? Artificial Intelligence Agent “Yui” delivers a personalized driving experience. Based on “Learn, Grow, Love” themes, both the AI agent “Yui” and LQ’s automated driving technology, developed by the Toyota Research Institute (TRI), unite and produce a “relationship between vehicle and driver by learning from and responding to individual preferences and needs.”
LQ Main Features
The main features and technologies of LQ include Yui Mobility Expert and AI Agent presents a personalized mobility experience based on the driver’s emotional state and alertness:
“The AI can engage with the driver using interactive voice communications, in-seat functions designed to increase alertness or reduce stress, in-vehicle illumination, air conditioning, fragrances and other human-machine interactions (HMI). Yui can also select and play music based on the driving environment and provide real-time information on topics of interest to the driver.”
Other LQ technology features include automated driving (SAE2 Level 4 equivalent automated driving function), automated valet parking system (jointly developed with Panasonic Corporation), AR-HUD (augmented reality head’s up display, jointly developed with Panasonic Corporation), seat with alertness and relaxation functions (world-first) (jointly developed with Toyota Boshoku Corporation), new HMI functions, organic LED meter display (Toyota’s first) and air purification coating (jointly developed with Aisin Chemical Co., Ltd. and Cataler Corporation).
The LQ’s design is a futuristic, forward-projecting silhouette with Yui central to the vehicle:
“The minimalist interior is smooth and sleek, with key elements like air conditioner vents hidden behind invisible registers. The 3D-printed center console is reinforced using the design technique of topology optimization, which provides optimal strength and supports an advanced vehicle interior with fewer support structures visible to the driver. The exterior doors feature glass that seamlessly connects with the interior of the vehicle, creating an integrated, elegant design.”
