Toyota wants to put driverless cars on the road by 2020 Olympic Games

Driverless cars are becoming less of a fad and more of a future reality, especially when companies like Toyota get involved. One of the world’s biggest car manufacturers is pushing for driverless cars to be on the roads, roaming around, by 2020.

The company was recently spotted testing one of its Lexus saloons, which “uses multiple external sensors” to steer clear of potential hazards and, well, things it could possibly crash into. Of course, the car also adjusts acceleration, braking and steering to achieve this.

For now, it’s limited in its abilities. It’s not exactly an automated master of its craft yet, even if it does feature 12 sensors to help its brain compute a safe trajectory.

While Toyota isn’t the first company to explore the driverless car dream, it’s definitely the largest of the large automakers. The likes of Audi and Mercedes have been involved in the notion for a while now, with more technology companies like Google, Uber and Tesla also giving the idea much thought. Google, in fact, used Lexus RX vehicles in its initial autonomous car testing phase.

But Toyota’s dream is to have these cars cantering around Tokyo’s streets in time for the city’s hosting of the Olympic Games. Perhaps driverless Lexuses isn’t quite the way to go for Toyota to reach the masses, but its a start.

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