Toyota’s ginormous dock for your smartphone
The “Smart INSECT” is Toyota’s first foray into the smartphone accessory business. Unveiled at this week’s CEATEC Japan exhibition, this concept car is designed to be a ginormous dock for your cellphone that interfaces with a zillion Net services once you once drop in your phone onto the Smart INSECT’s dash.
Some of the “smart: features this single-seat, all-electric car described in Toyota’s official press release include:
• When a driver approaches, the Smart INSECT’s front-mounted motion sensors use facial-recognition technology to detect and authenticate the driver registered with the vehicle.
• The vehicle communicates with the driver by flashing the front lights and greeting the driver via the instrument panel monitor, for example, with “Hello” and other displayed phrases and spoken responses.
• The motion sensors detect the driver’s movements, opening the door according to the movement of the driver.
• A “virtual agent” at the Toyota Smart Center recognizes the driver’s voice and predicts his or her intentions, setting the destination and operating various functions of the vehicle, such as the fog lamps and audio system.
• Smartphone navigation and content can be operated by voice command via the virtual agent.
• Through the virtual agent and voice commands, the drivers can operate the locks and air conditioners of their home from within the vehicle.
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October 4th, 2012 at 7:59 am
Hey! Didja hear the news? Now you can actually pay real money to be forever alone in the friend zone! And if you really are the “only one” then this “Smart INSECT” is the new way to drive your dreams solo via your Made-In-China iPhone! Riiiiiiiiight…..
October 4th, 2012 at 8:40 am
Do you mean like getting off while in SNAKE-EYES?
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October 5th, 2012 at 1:13 pm
Toyota Concept Uses Face Detection, Arm-Flapping to Open Doors
Wired.com | Oct. 4, 2012
…INSECT comes with facial recognition technology. As you approach the car, cameras analyze your face to verify the driver’s identity. Once authenticated, the car flashes its headlights and says, “Hello.” If the car’s cordial tone isn’t strange enough, the door functions are possibly the weirdest we’ve seen. According to the product demonstration, the driver approaches the car and flaps her arms like a bird. The car recognizes the motion, and opens the gull-wing doors. When they’re closed, the doors only reach part-way down, leaving the legs exposed.
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