Toyota e-Palette to Provide Autonomous Transportation for Olympic Athletes
Toyota has announced it will supply up to 20 Tokyo-ready e-Palette vehicles to help support athlete mobility at the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The cute little buses will provide autonomous transport on a loop in the Olympic and Paralympic villages for athletes and staff.
Toyota says the e-Palette vehicles were specially adapted for use in the games based on feedback from athletes about their mobility needs. It boasts large doors and electric ramps that can allow groups of athletes, including Paralympians, to board quickly.
Inside, passengers will find handrails and seats that can be used regardless of height, and contrasting colors that color-blind people will find easy to work with. A single e-Palette can transport up to four passengers in wheelchairs at a time along with additional standing passengers.
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“Throughout the development process, athletes, especially Paralympians, helped us to better understand how we could adapt and upgrade the e-Palette to better meet the need for simple, convenient and comfortable mobility,” Toyota said.
“We are proud to work with them on a vehicle that will not just move athletes physically throughout the Olympic and Paralympic villages, but will also offer them new opportunities to interact with others, share new experiences, and be moved emotionally.”
The onboard driving system can drive itself on full electric power at up to 20 kilometers per hour — just a little over 12 miles per hour — at an SAE Level 4 of automation, which is just one level under fully-fledged, can-drive-anywhere-in-any-conditions autonomy (there are no vehicles capable of Level 5 yet). Even so, a safety operator will still be aboard to ensure nothing goes wrong.
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