Toyota’s Collaborative Safety Research Center (CSRC) announced the launch of three projects as part of its next research phase. The projects include investigating driver support features for lane centering, creating an in-vehicle intervention prototype to promote safe driving, and using data to improve technology that aids decision-making and safer behavior behind the wheel. Toyota also shared it had joined the Vulnerable Road User Injury Prevention Alliance (VIPA) at the University of Michigan International Center for Automotive Medicine (ICAM). VIPA seeks to enhance industry-wide understanding of the scenarios between motor vehicles and vulnerable road users (pedestrians, cyclists, and e-scooter riders) that have historically led to crashes and injuries.
Current & Ongoing Projects
The three projects outlined by CSRC in late July 2023 are part of a five-year $30 million commitment to explore diverse safety needs and analyze inclusive mobility options that cater to various applications, physical characteristics, and accessibility levels for individuals and society. Toyota’s Collaborative Safety Research Center is involved in nearly 100 projects with more than 30 different institutions at the time of this writing. CSRC has published over 275 research papers and engaged more than 300 researchers who have publicly shared the findings.
After announcing nine new safety projects under its research umbrella in April 2022, Toyota’s CSRC revealed four additional projects in late August 2022, which included biomechanical factors for an ankle injury, assessing alcohol and drug impairments using a driver monitoring system, investigation of mechanisms leading to sudden medical emergencies, and effectiveness of driver management systems for driver attention. In 2022, Toyota’s CSRC also partnered with the University of Michigan’s Mcity for a study on autonomous vehicle roadmanship, or the idea of defining a standard range of behaviors for autonomous cars when sharing the road with humans.
Latest Projects as of July 2023
The CSRC’s latest projects leverage the expertise of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Agelab, the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI), and Touchstone Evaluations, Inc.
In the first project, establishing metrics and evaluating the benefits of automated lane-centering support, Toyota’s CSRC will work with MIT’s Agelab to analyze real-world data from volunteer drivers. Among the goals are to understand the primary and secondary advantages of ADAS features like lane-keeping assist and how such features may promote safer driving.
In the second project, CSRC will collaborate with UMTRI to develop prototype in-vehicle interventions that may encourage safer driving. Evaluations will be conducted with volunteers to test the effectiveness of such in-vehicle interventions. The third project with Touchstone Evaluations, Inc. will examine the relationship between personality and trip goals and how that may spur risky or aggressive driving behaviors like using a smartphone or tailgating.
“Our new research projects exemplify CSRC’s dedication to our mission of improving safety in the automotive industry,” said Danil Prokhorov, Director of Toyota’s CSRC. “By collaborating with researchers to study real-world problems related to mobility technologies, we aim to develop enhanced engineering tools and empower drivers to maximize the potential of advanced technologies.”
Toyota created the Collaborative Safety Research Center in 2011 to advance mobility safety for industry and society through open collaborations with universities, hospitals, and other institutions. To date, CSRC has received $115 million for foundational and applied safety research, including the development of tools and testing procedures related to ADAS and research into human factors on vehicle safety.
