Toyota Motor Corp is forming a new data science company in partnership with Microsoft Corp that is designed to free customers “from the tyranny of technology.”
The company called Toyota Connected has a goal of simplifying technology so it is easier to use, perhaps even getting rid of distracting and complicated touch screens that are now in most cars and replacing them with heads-up or voice-activated technology, Toyota Motor America’s chief information officer Zack Hicks said.
“I think people are really tired of fumbling with multiple devices and having this disjointed experience,” Hicks said as Toyota announced the venture on Monday.
Like other automakers, Toyota Connected is to research connecting cars to each other and to homes, as well as telematics features that learn and anticipate a driver’s habits.
The company, like other automakers, is to explore transmitting a driver’s health data to a doctor or driving patterns to an insurance company so people are insured based on where they travel, Toyota said, adding that it is to look at linking with other vehicles so drivers can report weather and traffic conditions to people driving the same route.
Toyota said the new company would support research into artificial intelligence and robots, as well as analyze data from vehicle sensors and cameras so algorithms can be developed for self-driving cars.
Drivers would have to opt in to all of the data reporting, and Toyota would disclose what data is being shared, the company said.
Microsoft engineers would work with the company at its headquarters in Plano, Texas, where Toyota is moving its US operations. Microsoft bought a 5 percent equity stake in the startup company, Toyota said, but the full price was not disclosed.
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