Toyota gears up on futuristic cars: Invests USD 1 billion on artificial intelligence

Toyota Motor Corporation has plans to invest USD 1 billion for developing futuristic cars involving artificial intelligence and robotics.

Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: Toyota Motor Corporation is setting up a a new company, Toyota Research Institute Inc., an R&D enterprise, which will focus on artificial intelligence and robotics.

The focus of the R& D projects at Toyota Research Institute will be to improve safety by continuously decreasing the likelihood that a car will be involved in an accident, make driving accessible to everyone, regardless of ability, and apply Toyota technology used for outdoor mobility to indoor environments, particularly for the support of seniors. 

The company will have the headquarter in Silicon Valley, California, U.S.A and will begin operations in January 2016. 

A second facility of the new company will be located near the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.A. 

Toyota said that the company believes artificial intelligence has significant potential to support future industrial technologies and the creation of an entirely new industry.

To underscore this belief, it is making an initial investment of $1 billion over the next five years, to establish and staff the two initial locations and conduct operations.

The investment is in addition to the $50 million investment over the next five years with MIT and Stanford to establish joint fundamental artificial intelligence research centers at each university.

TRI will help bridge the gap between fundamental research and product development. Its primary mission is to accelerate R&D in a range of fields to help resolve society's future challenges by using artificial intelligence and big data. Thereby, contributing to a sustainable future where everyone can experience a safer, freer, and unconstrained life.

"We also plan to apply our work more broadly, for example to improve production efficiency and accelerate scientific discovery in materials", said the company note.