Toyota, self-driving shuttle at the Olympics, all stop.Why?
Toyota has announced that it will completely suspend the operation of its self-driving shuttle “e-Palette” that it has put into the Tokyo Olympics. This is due to a collision between a blind player and a shuttle near Tokyo Stadium, where the Paralympics are in full swing.
Toyota Motor CEO Akio Toyota appeared on the company’s YouTube video on the 28th (local time) and apologized to the player who had an accident and said he would stop operating the self-driving shuttle. He also said he wanted to meet with the person involved in the accident and apologize in person, but the actual meeting was not made.
“This accident shows that self-driving cars still have limitations on general roads,” CEO Akio said. “In particular, self-driving cars are difficult to operate in situations where there are people with visual impairments.”
The accident occurred on Wednesday. At that time, the e-pallet stopped at the junction and the driver was changing direction to manual control. In the process, the shuttle, which was driving 1 to 2 kilometers per hour, hit the player, and the player who was in the accident was immediately transferred to the Athletic Village Medical Center. Lee reportedly walked to his accommodation after being examined and treated.
The e-Palette is a level 4 self-driving car that was unveiled for the first time at the 2019 Tokyo Motor Show. As you can guess from the name “Palette,” it has been developed to respond to various demands such as shuttles, camping cars, and cooking cars by placing the body on a flat platform.
The company unveiled an e-pallet designed to transport athletes and officials to the Tokyo Olympics earlier this year. The e-Palette Shuttle is 5255mm long, 2065mm wide, and 2,760mm high, and it has 20 passengers. When accommodating wheelchairs, it has a size of 11 people (including four wheelchairs. The driving distance is 150 kilometers.
Toyota said it is urging police to investigate the cause of the accident and will also investigate itself.파워볼사이트