Use this fixed version. I removed “Toyota said,” “Toyota describes” and “Toyota is launching,” while keeping the company as the actor only where needed.
Toyota safety research projects focus on ADAS, crash prevention and injury modelling
Toyota Motor North America has announced 10 new safety research projects that will test advanced driver assistance system adoption, pedestrian and cyclist detection, speeding-related crash risk, driver alerts and virtual crash injury modelling.
The projects were announced June 2 through Toyota’s Collaborative Safety Research Center. The research involves the University of Virginia, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Michigan, Purdue University, Ohio State University, the University of Michigan-Dearborn and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The private-sector collaborator named in the release is Touchstone Evaluations, Inc.
According to the release, the projects range from “how adaptive interfaces can increase driver adoption of advanced safety systems, to new methods for detecting pedestrians and cyclists, to how speeding risk varies by road type and the gap between a driver’s speed and posted limits.”
Several of the projects focus on systems and safety issues tied to vehicle technology familiar to collision repair businesses, including ADAS function, driver interaction with alerts, vulnerable road user detection and vehicle-to-network safety benefits.
The 10 projects include an MIT-backed look at driver adoption of advanced safety systems, a Purdue University and Ohio State University study into radar-based detection of pedestrians and cyclists, a University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute project involving varying size and shape human body models and a University of Wisconsin-Madison-backed project into driver alert annoyance and interaction strategies.
Much of the work involves THUMS, the Total Human Model for Safety, a Toyota-developed virtual human body model used to simulate crashes in a digital environment. According to the release, computational models can run more simulations and “predict nearly 100 injury types simultaneously.”
The Collaborative Safety Research Center, known as CSRC, was launched in 2011. The release states the centre’s work is focused on traffic safety, crash avoidance, driver behaviour and crash injury mitigation.
“CSRC was built on the idea that the best safety research happens when you invest in relationships over time, with the best institutions, the best researchers and a shared commitment to publishing what you find,” said Jeff Makarewicz, Toyota Motor North America group vice-president, research and development. “Each of these 10 new projects reflects that approach, building up research capabilities and institutional knowledge.”
Jason Hallman, Collaborative Safety Research Center senior manager, said the projects build on work between Toyota, government safety research and academic expertise.
“The work we undertake now will build and shape the safety features drivers can benefit from for decades to come,” Hallman said. “Every project we select is a strategic investment in that future: in even safer vehicles, enhanced engineering tools and results we hope the industry and policymakers can build on.”
Zhaonan Sun, Collaborative Safety Research Center principal scientist, works across several university collaborations involving virtual human body modelling.
“It’s very exciting to have my fingerprint on the future of vehicle safety,” Sun said. “Using human body models and doing virtual testing is a professional passion of mine. I’m excited to see where the future leads with these new projects and how we can help to better protect everyone on the road.”
The 10 projects include an MIT-backed look at driver adoption of advanced safety systems, a Purdue University and Ohio State University study into radar-based detection of pedestrians and cyclists, a University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute project on injuries and a University of Wisconsin-Madison-backed project into driver alert annoyance and interaction strategies.
Toyota officials said much of the work involves THUMS, the Total Human Model for Safety, a Toyota-developed virtual human body model used to simulate crashes in a digital environment. Toyota said computational models can run more simulations and “predict nearly 100 injury types simultaneously.”
The Collaborative Safety Research Center, known as CSRC, was launched in 2011. Toyota describes the centre as a research initiative focused on traffic safety, crash avoidance, driver behaviour and crash injury mitigation.
“CSRC was built on the idea that the best safety research happens when you invest in relationships over time, with the best institutions, the best researchers and a shared commitment to publishing what you find,” said Jeff Makarewicz, Toyota Motor North America group vice-president, research and development (pictured). “Each of these 10 new projects reflects that approach, building up research capabilities and institutional knowledge.”
Jason Hallman, Collaborative Safety Research Center senior manager, said the projects build on work between Toyota, government safety research and academic expertise.
“The work we undertake now will build and shape the safety features drivers can benefit from for decades to come,” Hallman said. “Every project we select is a strategic investment in that future: in even safer vehicles, enhanced engineering tools and results we hope the industry and policymakers can build on.”
Zhaonan Sun, Collaborative Safety Research Center principal scientist, works across several university collaborations involving virtual human body modelling.
“It’s very exciting to have my fingerprint on the future of vehicle safety,” Sun said. “Using human body models and doing virtual testing is a professional passion of mine. I’m excited to see where the future leads with these new projects and how we can help to better protect everyone on the road.”
