Toyota is testing new safety technology called vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) at a newly opened facility in Japan. The test facility is called the Intelligent Transport System and has integrated sensors and transmitters in its roadways to communicate with the test vehicles, which have their own sensor gear.
The 3.5-hectare facility aims to reduce accidents by having the cars not only communicate with one another but the roadway system as well. The system can help prevent crashes stemming from running a red light, for example, or pedestrians crossing against a signal as well.
The cost of the system will be great, however, and it's likely to appear in high-end flagship cars such as Lexus' LS460. Outfitting the system may cost as much as a "cheaper Toyota," according to The Detroit Free Press.
The facility is part of Toyota's Mount Fuji Technical Center in Shizuoka Prefecture in central Japan. The cars with V2V tech will go on to be tested on Japanese roads starting in 2014, with similar trials for the U.S. slated for later, though details weren't revealed.
Also shown off was much more attainable safety tech in the form of a brake system that will apply the brakes harder to prevent hitting the vehicle in front because a panicked driver failed to apply them hard enough.
In the U.S., the federal government and University of Michigan have recently started a $25 million study that will test about 3,000 vehicles communicating with one another in order to help improve road safety.