Next summer, Toyota Research Institute’s (TRI) Platform 4 (P4) automated driving test vehicle will be tested on public roads in Tokyo, offering select individuals the chance to experience the technology first hand.

Based on the fifth-generation Lexus LS sedan, the P4 test vehicle, which will have a safety driver present in the vehicle at all times, will operate in a waterfront subcenter called Odaiba district, which is described as “busy and often congested.” TRI says that Odaiba presents a “complex environment” with a variety of challenges that make it ideal for demonstrating the capabilities of Toyota’s automated driving technology.

“By challenging ourselves to successfully operate autonomously in Odaiba, we have set a high bar that requires us to rapidly expand the capabilities of our technology in a short amount of time,” says TRI CEO Gill Pratt. 

“To accomplish that, we are working closely with the Advanced R&D Division of Toyota Motor Corporation and Toyota Research Institute-Advanced Development (TRI-AD) based in Tokyo, who is responsible for bringing the P4’s automated driving software to the public.”

During the public demonstration, the P4 will showcase Toyota’s “Chauffeur” SAE Level-4 capabilities in a specific “mobility as a service” (MaaS) driving environment.

P4 has been undergoing testing at TRI’s closed-course test facility in Ottawa Lake, Michigan. To prepare the P4 for the environment it will have to autonomously navigate in Tokyo, the test facility has replicated Odaiba’s most challenging infrastructure characteristics and driving scenarios.

P4 software is undergoing additional testing on public roads in Odaiba, as well as around TRI’s research offices in Ann Arbor, Michigan and Los Altos, California.