The Toyota Research Institute (TRI) is constructing a closed-course test facility to develop automated vehicle technology. Construction permits were filed this week to transform an approximately 60-acre site at Michigan Technical Resource Park (MITRP) in Ottawa Lake. When it becomes operational this October, the new site will be used exclusively by TRI to safely replicate demanding “edge case” driving scenarios, too dangerous to perform on public roads.
“By constructing a course for ourselves, we can design it around our unique testing needs and rapidly advance capabilities, especially with Toyota Guardian automated vehicle mode,” said Ryan Eustice, TRI senior vice president of automated driving. “This new site will give us the flexibility to customize driving scenarios that will push the limits of our technology and move us closer to conceiving a human-driven vehicle that is incapable of causing a crash.”
The TRI facility will be constructed inside MITRP’s 1.75-mile oval test track. It will include congested urban environments, slick surfaces and a four-lane divided highway with high-speed entrance and exit ramps.
Source and photo credits: Toyota
