Know Your Ward 12 City Councillor - Amarjeet Sohi

Edmonton Today - Edmonton News Blog of Oilers' Oil Country: Know Your Ward 12 City Councillor - Amarjeet Sohi: Amarjit Sohi On Council Amarjeet Sohi was elected to City Council in 2007, and took on a number of special initiatives in his fi...

Toyota unveils cars with auto pilot

TOKYO -  Toyota on Friday unveiled the next generation of cars featuring an auto pilot system that will swerve to avoid collisions and also keep to the middle of the road, all without drivers touching the wheel.

The Japanese giant autos using the self-driving technology could be available on the market in just a few years' time.

"These advanced driving support technologies prevent human errors, reduce driving stress and help drivers avert accidents, which has a big potential to reduce the number of traffic deaths," Toyota managing director Moritaka Yoshida said at a presentation in Tokyo.

Leading automakers and technology firms, including Toyota, rival Nissan and Internet giant Google, have been working on self-driving and assisted-driving technology for years.

Toyota, the world's biggest automaker, said that while drivers would still need to be alert and take part in the driving process, it essentially lets them put the vehicle on auto-pilot, leaving most of the work to the computer system.

The Automated Highway Driving Assist (AHDA) system lets vehicles communicate wirelessly to avoid running into each other while keeping the car in the middle of the road lane -- no matter how many twists and turns lie ahead.

"Cars with these technologies recognise the accelerating or slowing speed of those ahead, which also helps avoid traffic jams," said project manager Mitsuhisa Shida. "They can wirelessly exchange data once every 0.1 seconds."

The company plans to install AHDA in its commercial models over the next few years.

Toyota has already introduced the pre-collision braking assist system in its Lexus luxury sedan and plans to install it in other models by 2015, with the other technologies to follow.

Many cars already have systems that gives drivers a panoramic view to keep watch for nearby objects while parking itself.

The latest collision-avoidance system has doubled the detection time of oncoming objects to four seconds from a previous two seconds, Toyota added.

The automaker said such advances would be especially helpful for older people. Japan's society is rapidly ageing with over-65s already making up around a quarter of the 128 million-strong population.

Ford, University of Michigan open new electric car battery lab

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Ford Motor Co. and the University of Michigan are opening a new battery research and manufacturing lab that they hope will speed the development of batteries for electric and hybrid cars.

The centre, on the university's campus in Ann Arbor, will bring together battery makers, car companies and researchers who will test new batteries for prototype vehicles.

Ted Miller, who manages battery research at Ford, said the lab will be unique in the U.S. He said that labs currently testing new battery chemistries can't produce them in the amounts or formats needed for automotive research. And battery companies aren't always sure that what they're developing could be useful to the automotive industry.

Ford and other automakers all have labs where they test batteries for durability and quality, Miller said. But that's happening very late in the battery development process. The new lab could ensure that automakers' input is heard earlier.

Electric cars have been slow sellers, making up less than 1 per cent of U.S. auto sales last year. Gas-electric hybrids and plug-in hybrids -- which can go further on electricity -- sell in larger numbers, but still make up just 3 per cent of sales. That's partly because the batteries in those cars can add thousands of dollars to their price tags. Battery costs are expected to fall over the next decade, as new materials are discovered and production increases. The new lab could accelerate that.

"There's a lot of hunger for this," Miller told media last week at Ford's battery research facility near its headquarters in Dearborn. He said the lab should be able to start making batteries early next year.

The $8 million centre received a $5 million grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corp., a public-private agency, and $900,000 from the university. Ford contributed $2.1 million, but Miller said other automakers have already asked about doing research there.

"This is open innovation," said Mark Barteau, a professor of advanced energy research and director of Michigan's Energy Institute. "I believe that co-operation between university researchers and industry is essential to create advances that have real-world impact."