Research will explore the diverse safety needs
of the evolving mobility ecosystem by further engaging projects
with expertise of nationally recognized universities: University of Virginia, University of Michigan Medical School, University of California San Diego, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Iowa State University and University of Wisconsin-Madison
ANN
ARBOR, Mich., Aug. 23,
2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Toyota's Collaborative
Safety Research Center (CSRC) today announced four additional
research projects are being added to the next phase of its
pioneering automotive safety research. The projects include a study
of human diversity in injury biomechanics, a look at technologies
that can help prevent impaired drivers from endangering themselves
or others, how to help predict when a driver is at risk of
incapacitation or illness before it becomes an emergency and how to
more effectively pass the operation of the vehicle between the
driver and automation. These new projects join the nine announced
in April as part of a five-year, $30
million commitment to examine the diversity of safety needs
and analyze safe mobility options that accommodate a variety of
applications, physical characteristics and levels of accessibility
for people and society.
"As we continue to pursue the needs of industry around
automotive safety, these new projects will help us better
understand human driving behavior, ways to integrate medical
technology and crash protection for a diverse population of
physical characteristics," said Danil Prokhorov, director of
Toyota's CSRC and Future Research Department (FRD).
CSRC will continue to collaborate with the University of Virginia, University of Michigan Medical School, University of California San Diego, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Iowa State University and University of Wisconsin-Madison through these new
projects. Safety improvements found in these projects will be
publicly available to help push safety forward industrywide.
The four projects include:
|
Project
Title
|
Topic
|
Institution
|
|
Biomechanical factors
for ankle injury considering population diversity and
equity
|
Why have crash injury
differences been reported between males and females, particularly
to the ankle? Researchers will use a combination of computer
modeling with the THUMS, tissue experiments and medical imaging data to
investigate ankle injury mechanisms and differences across
population groups, especially biological sex.
|
University of
Virginia
University of Michigan Medical School
|
|
Assessing driver
alcohol and drug impairment using driver monitor systems
|
What technologies can
help prevent impaired drivers from endangering themselves and
others? Researchers will recruit and evaluate volunteers in a
simulator to test the feasibility of using existing in-vehicle
technologies for detecting driving impairment due to alcohol and
cannabis in a controlled setting.
|
University of
California San Diego
|
|
Investigation of
mechanisms leading to sudden medical emergencies
|
What clues can help
predict a driver's incapacitation and illness before it becomes an
emergency? Researchers will use hospital and naturalistic
driving data to investigate physiologic and behavioral signatures
that may indicate impending sudden medical emergencies in order to
enhance options for early intervention.
|
University of Michigan
Medical School
University of Nebraska Medical Center
Iowa State University
|
|
Effectiveness of driver
management systems for driver attention
|
How can vehicle
interfaces enhance a driver's engagement in the driving task as
automation capability advances? Researchers will use a
driving simulator to evaluate driver management technologies and
develop tools to enhance cooperation between human drivers and
automated driving systems.
|
University of Wisconsin
- Madison
|
Projects are identified based on their application to CSRC's
proposed research tracks for the next five-year period –
Human-Centric, Safety Assurance and Assessment – which weave
together the diverse interdisciplinary backgrounds of CSRC's
team.
On top of the multi-year projects announced today and in April,
CSRC has announced its pursuit of smaller research investigations
to explore potential new topics and collaborator relationships. The
investigations enable CSRC to explore contributions to current and
emerging safety issues for future project planning. The
investigation topics include differences in risky driving behavior
across cultures, relationships between child passengers and crash
trends and differences in safety perceptions across socioeconomic
groups. By working with researchers on these topics early on, CSRC
is laying the foundation for future breakthroughs in these and
other areas of growing importance. CSRC welcomes continued
scientific discussion on these and other potential topics for early
investigations.
Toyota created the Collaborative Safety Research Center (CSRC)
in 2011 to advance traffic safety for the industry and society
through open partnerships with universities, hospitals and other
institutions. From 2011-2022, CSRC has received $85 million for foundational safety research,
including development of tools and testing procedures related to
the efficacy of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and
research into human factors on vehicle safety.
Including ongoing work, CSRC has undertaken 98 research projects
with more than 30 different institutions, published over 260
research papers and engaged more than 300 researchers, who have
publicly shared the output globally. The projects have made
meaningful contributions to help advance research and technology
for the safe integration of future mobility solutions for all.
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in
North America for more than 60
years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation
mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than
1,800 dealerships.
Toyota directly employs more than 48,000 people in North America who have contributed to the
design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 43 million cars and
trucks at our 13 manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota's 14th plant
in North Carolina will begin to
manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With
more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker,
more than a quarter of the company's 2021 North American sales were
electrified.
Through the Start Your Impossible campaign, Toyota highlights
the way it partners with community, civic, academic and
governmental organizations to address our society's most pressing
mobility challenges. We believe that when people are free to move,
anything is possible. For more information about Toyota, visit
www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.
Media Contact:
Olivia Boisineau
olivia.boisineau@toyota.com
View original content to download
multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/toyotas-collaborative-safety-research-center-adds-four-new-projects-to-latest-five-year-research-phase-301610988.html
SOURCE Toyota Motor North America