One focuses on total autonomy, while the other is more of an overseer.
Toyota built itself an all-new autonomous test vehicle, and it’ll be used to chart two different paths to our inevitable autonomous future.
The Toyota Research Institute developed this test car entirely in house. It’s built on top of a current-generation Lexus LS 600hL hybrid luxury sedan. It packs Lidar, radar and camera sensors for monitoring the road, and it uses machine learning to improve as it racks up the miles.
Right now, the technology on this LS 600hL will be used for two different “paths” that Toyota Research Institute is developing — Chauffeur and Guardian.
One look and it’s fairly obvious that this Lexus LS isn’t destined for a golf course parking lot.
Chauffeur is a more traditional autonomous system. It’s always on, and it’s capable of completely unrestricted SAE Level 5 autonomy, meaning no human intervention is required. It also functions in a geo-fenced, SAE Level 4 manner, with autonomous driving available in most, but not all modes of operation.
