Daily Slideshow: Lexus's Autonomous Tech Can See Farther Than Anyone

What has TRI been up to?

The Silicon Valley-based division of Lexus, Toyota Research Institute, has just brought out the latest iteration of their self-driving test vehicle. That vehicle is a brand spanking new LS600hL that comes with some extra tech in the form of a hulking mass that consists of a LIDAR, radar, and cameras. This new version of the car that was shown off two times in 2017 will be on display next week during the International Consumer Electronics Show. 

>>Join the conversation about the new Platform 3.0 LS600hL right here in the ClubLexus forum.

Just Toyota doing Toyota things

In the time since the car was last shown to the public, the car now has the ability to "see" farther... much farther. That LIDAR on the roof, built by Luminar, a Portola Valley startup, has given the LS test car the ability to gather information up to over 650 feet around it in a full 360-degree bubble. Reps from Toyota say that Platform 3.0 is “one of the most perceptive automated driving test cars on the road.”

>>Join the conversation about the new Platform 3.0 LS600hL right here in the ClubLexus forum.

Velodyne spreading it around

To compare this to another LIDAR system for vehicles, Velodyne's unit the HDL-64E has just a 393-foot range and its other unit the VLP-16 Puck has just a 328-foot range. However, Velodyne has taken the step to dropping the price of the VLP-16 Puck in half in order to spur the wider adoption of autonomous cars. Founder and CEO of Velodyne David Hall looks at things like this: “We took a cost is no issue approach with this thing. The mobility-as-a-service customer would just as soon have a higher end LIDAR. The costs aren’t that high when compared to the value of not having a driver.”

>>Join the conversation about the new Platform 3.0 LS600hL right here in the ClubLexus forum.

Bringing together the best

As big as the system is on the top of the LS600hL is, it could have been much larger if Toyota had not sought out help in order to better integrate the tech. TRI got in touch with CALTY Design Research in Ann Arbor, Michigan in addition to the engineers at Toyota Motor North America R & D to help them better improve the appearance of the car. The rooftop now has a weather and temperature proof panel to protect it from the elements and stuffed a good deal of the bits into the location of the sunroof compartment. That spark of ingenuity helped TRI showcase a further streamlined appearance and less of a bolted-on look for the test car. If you wonder why this is such a big deal just look at an image search for autonomous vehicles and you'll be met with giant spinning cameras sitting above roofs.

>>Join the conversation about the new Platform 3.0 LS600hL right here in the ClubLexus forum.

I'm sure Toyota will leapfrog some folks

In the spring of 2018, TRI will start production of Platform 3.0 vehicles that will feature a dual-steering wheel layout just like the one that was debuted summer of 2017. In the past, Toyota has been holding its cards close to its chest when it comes to releasing information on autonomous vehicles developments. Toyota is ranked actually behind other brands like Ford, GM, Daimler, and BMW in terms of self-driving cars by the industry's due date of 2021. Although later this month an updated version of this self-driving car race map will be released so we'll see where Toyota stacks up after that. 

>>Join the conversation about the new Platform 3.0 LS600hL right here in the ClubLexus forum.

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