When you take a quick glance at the newly launched Toyota i-RIDE concept model which is being showcased at the Tokyo motor show now, it might immediately surprise you with its unconventional design.
After all, the car looks a lot like the robot delivery machines from the sci-fi movie iRobot but Toyota believes that this is how a future car should look like. The automobile industry has gone all-electric and trying to adopt autonomous capabilities. The fact is confirmed by going through the stalls and the range of cars in display at the Tokyo expo. According to the automobile brand, the new range of Concept-i and Concept i-Ride cars will be available in the dealership stores by 2020.
The model which was debuted at the auto show is a two-seater model equipped with a lot of futuristic stuff. The car’s infotainment system which stays always connected to the internet will read social media activities of the people on-board so as to change movie, music preference as well as other personal interests to offer a customized riding experience.
Besides, Toyota engineers have improved the cars further by implementing agents. The agent is responsible for automatically switching the light, air conditioning in a car to a soothing level if the passengers want to converse or try to calm down the driver when needed.
“We are still in the early stages of this concept. Cars that look similar to the ones you see here at the show will be road tested by 2020 and available for purchase. However, they may not be exactly the same models with same features,” said Shota Ando, who is responsible for Toyota’s future product department.
The upcoming EV concept models are expected to offer about 186 miles on a single charge. The i-Ride concept is designed to be an urban car with a very sleek design and also supports mobility scooter, wheelchair making it a friendly addition for all kinds of passengers. Despite all the futuristic additions, the model still has a conventional steering wheel as it is not fully autonomous and has a pair of joysticks at the corner of the armrests to allow passengers to make adjustments.
Apart from the two concept models, Toyota also unveiled a Concept-i WALK which directly rivals the Segway self-balancing scooter. It’s actually not a car but something that falls in line with the other concept models announced by the company at the 2017 Tokyo Motor show.