Toyota Research Institute Launches Next Phase of Collaborative Research with Diverse Roster of World-Class Academic Institutions

 Program Expands, Adding 13 New University Participants While Continuing Long-Standing Collaborations With MIT, Stanford and the University of Michigan

One of the Largest Collaborative Research Programs by an Automotive Company in the World With Investment of More Than $75 Million Over Five Years

The Toyota Research Institute (TRI) announced today that it has selected 13 additional academic institutions to participate in the next five-year phase of its collaborative research program. These universities join MIT, Stanford and the University of Michigan which have worked with TRI over the last five years to expand the body of research into artificial intelligence (AI) with the goal of amplifying the human experience.

The next five-year phase includes investing more than $75 million in the academic institutions, making it one of the largest collaborative research programs by an automotive company in the world.

“Our first five-year program pushed the boundaries of exploratory research across multiple fields, generating 69 patent applications and nearly 650 papers,” said Eric Krotkov, TRI Chief Science Officer who leads the university research program. “Our next five years are about pushing even further and doing so with a broader, more diverse set of stakeholders. To get to the best ideas, collaboration is critical. Our aim is to build a pipeline of new ideas from different perspectives and underrepresented voices that share our vision of using AI for human amplification and societal good.”

The following universities completed a comprehensive proposal submission and review process and will participate in the next phase of TRI’s collaborative research program:

1. Carnegie Mellon University
2. Columbia University
3. Florida A&M University-Florida State University College of Engineering
4. Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech)
5. Indiana University
6. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
7. Princeton University
8. Smith College
9. Stanford University
10. Toyota Technological Institute at Chicago (TTIC)
11. University of California, Berkeley
12. University of Illinois
13. University of Michigan
14. University of Minnesota
15. University of Pennsylvania
16. University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)

Through this program, TRI will lead 35 joint research projects focused on achieving breakthroughs around difficult technological challenges in TRI’s research areas: Automated Driving, Robotics and Machine Assisted Cognition (MAC).

The primary objectives of the joint research projects are to:

• Contribute significant new knowledge and understanding to the artificial intelligence field.
• Demonstrate the potential to radically advance state of the art concepts into possible use cases.
• Promote the transfer of knowledge through the meaningful exchange of scientific and technical information between TRI researchers and academic partners.
• Create and share infrastructure, including data and software, to further research, promote reproducibility and support education.

The first phase of the program, conducted over the last five years, sponsored 98 projects involving about 100 faculty members and over 200 students. These projects yielded important technology advances for ongoing TRI projects, including transfer learning in computer vision, self-supervised learning on contact-rich tasks, and techniques for mimicking human behavior in various driving interactions. The projects generated several awards for published papers at leading conferences including the CVPR 2018 Best Paper, an ICRA 2019 Finalist Best Paper, the ICRA 2019 Best Paper, and the 2020 IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters Best Paper Award. Additionally, the close collaborations resulted in the recruitment of several new TRI team members.

This next five-year phase focuses investments in projects TRI researchers have a keen academic interest in exploring to create more value and impact for TRI. Each project features a TRI researcher as a co-investigator who will work with the university partner. This approach directly engages TRI researchers with the academic AI partners and ensures that the research contributes to the TRI mission.

TRI is also offering Young Faculty Researcher (YFR) projects to form partnerships with more junior (typically pre-tenure) faculty members. Whereas joint projects have TRI pursuing a specific direction and reaching technical milestones along the way, the YFR projects are specifically designed to support promising tenure stream faculty members, enabling them to explore broadly, inquire deeply, and address higher-risk, higher-payoff ideas. In YFR projects, TRI invests in the researcher and provides them with the freedom and flexibility to pivot from one direction to another.

Give a Special Gift this Valentine's Day

Here at Burien Toyota, we would love for everyone to get a brand-new Toyota with a giant bow on top for Valentine’s Day (and we have some great deals to make that happen for you!). But just in case you’re looking for something else to give this year, here is a list of some of our favorite non-typical, creative gift ideas:

·         Wearable plants! Yes, there are some very talented floral designers out there who can make jewelry out of living plants. If you get your sweetie some living jewelry that includes succulents, those plants can be replanted (after she’s done wearing them for a week or 2) and you can watch it grow…like your love for each other 😉

·         Monthly subscription. Whatever your significant other enjoys, there’s probably a subscription service for it. Wine, cheese, plants, liquor, exercise service, etc.

·         A customized board game! There’s nothing quite like spending time together except when you take it to the next level by customizing the game. https://www.uncommongoods.com/product/personalized-hearts-four-across-game?clickid=x4D0HRwU6xyLU1IwUx0Mo36MUkEUGDwZzTC-y00&irgwc=1&utm_source=BuzzFeed&utm_medium=affiliates&utm_campaign=8444&utm_term=Online%20Tracking%20Link&trafficSource=Impact&sharedid=

·         Adopt a star or wild animal for your significant other! What could be more romantic than naming a star for your loved one or adopting/protecting a whale (or something) in their name? There are several naming services but here are a couple https://www.star-registration.com/, https://gifts.worldwildlife.org/gift-center/gifts/species-adoptions.aspx

·         Become a Lord or Lady! Purchase a small plot of land in the Old Country, which officially (technically) makes you a land-owning Lord and/or Lady. Here’s an option for those wishing to be a Scottish Laird or Lady, but there are other countries/options out there https://establishedtitles.com/

What was a favorite unique gift you’ve given or received?

Woven Planet Group To Host Virtual Opening Event “The Genesis”

Newly founded in January 2021, Woven Planet Group will host its virtual opening event, “The Genesis,” on January 29th. At the event, the leaders of its four new companies will introduce each company and its mission, and share their work and thoughts on making people’s lives happier through future mobility. Woven Planet Group looks forward to seeing all of you there!

According to the event page, "Woven Planet Group, formerly Toyota Research Institute - Advanced Development, Inc. (TRI-AD) established in March 2018, was newly established in January 2021. We have two operating companies, Woven Core, Inc. and Woven Alpha, Inc. along with an investment fund, Woven Capital L.P. under a holding company, Woven Planet Holdings, Inc. At the event, the leaders of our four new companies will introduce each company and its mission, and share their work and thoughts on making people's lives happier through future mobility."

We love Toyota's dedication to help making all people mobile through technology and can't wait to hear more about Woven!

VIDEO: Toyota Research Institute and Stanford University’s Dynamic Design Lab Study How to Improve Automotive Safety

 

Inspired by the Skills of Professional Drift Drivers, Research Seeks to Combine the Technology of Vehicle Automation with Artificial Intelligence Algorithms

What if every driver who ran into trouble had the instinctive reflexes of a professional race car driver and the calculated foresight of a supercomputer to avoid a crash? Researchers at Toyota Research Institute are working with Stanford’s Dynamic Design Lab to make this vision come true.

The engineers are conducting research into how to bring together the instincts of professional drivers and automated driving technology. Their goal is to design a new level of active safety technology and share it broadly so that Toyota and other auto manufacturers can deploy it on the road.

“Every day, there are deadly vehicle crashes that result from extreme situations where most drivers would need superhuman skills to avoid a collision,” said Gill Pratt, TRI CEO and Chief Scientist at Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC). “The reality is that every driver has vulnerabilities, and to avoid a crash, drivers often need to make maneuvers that are beyond their abilities. Through this project, TRI will learn from some of the most skilled drivers in the world to develop sophisticated control algorithms that amplify human driving abilities and keep people safe. This is the essence of the Toyota Guardian™ approach.”

Every year, car crashes result in nearly 40,000 fatalities in the United States, and about 1.25 million fatalities worldwide. Toyota’s goal is to reduce that number to zero. While most crashes occur in mundane situations, in other situations drivers may need to make maneuvers that take their vehicle close to and, at times, exceed normal limits of handling. When faced with wet or slippery roads for instance, professional drivers may choose to ‘drift’ the car through a turn.

“Since 2008, our lab has taken inspiration from human race car drivers in designing algorithms that enable automated vehicles to handle the most challenging emergencies,” said Professor Chris Gerdes of Stanford University’s Dynamic Design Laboratory.  “Through this research, we have the opportunity to move these ideas much closer to saving lives on the road.”

TRI has supported the Dynamic Design Lab’s research for many years. The current project draws upon Stanford’s published paper, “Opening New Dimensions: Vehicle Motion Planning and Control using Brakes while Drifting,” in which Stanford researchers demonstrated advanced drifting on MARTY, an electrified, automated DeLorean. Stanford’s experimental results produced a proof-of-concept architecture capable of controlling a rear-wheel drive vehicle in a drift using brakes, steering and propulsion. TRI is now applying this architecture to vehicle platforms, including the GR Supra.

TRI is also engaging Toyota’s engineering expertise in motorsports and advanced development. Toyota Racing Development (TRD U.S.A., Inc.) in the United States is providing valuable technical and experiential know-how in motorsports and drifting. Separately, TRI is also working with Toyota Motor Corporation’s Vehicle Dynamics Control Team — based in Japan — to apply the drifting architecture for future Toyota vehicles.

Charting a Course Through 2020 Following the Toyota Way

Along with the rest of the world, Toyota began 2020 with plans. New vehicle reveals, milestones in manufacturing and innovation, community outreach objectives, a full calendar of employee events, and more, were ready to hit the ground running.

Ahead were the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020. Toyota has been a TOP (The Olympic Partner programme) partner of the International Olympic Committee and International Paralympic Committee since March 2015 as a mobility partner. As excited Team Toyota athletes kept us up-to-date on training and competition, a decisive moment in the future of mobility was being brought to life on the ground in the U.S. and Japan.

Like you, and like so many of us, Toyota was ready.

Then, in March of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic became the crisis that threatened to bring the wheels of their big plans to an abrupt stop.

In that surreal moment, as awareness of the scale of the crisis became clear, something else crystallized just as quickly. Toyota was indeed ready, just not in the way it initially thought. The pillars of the Toyota Way are always in place and, as conditions on the ground shifted, those pillars stood firm. Through the foundational principles of Respect for People and Continuous Improvement, Toyota’s “North Star” led the way.

A New Year

2020 began with a major leap in mobility innovation and January’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) offered the perfect forum for announcing Toyota’s plans to build a prototype city of the future: Woven City. A fully connected ecosystem powered by hydrogen fuel cells, Toyota announced that Woven City will function as a “living laboratory” to help test and develop technologies, such as autonomy, robotics, personal mobility, smart homes and artificial intelligence in a real-world environment. In a similar visionary vein came the announcement of a new collaboration with Joby Aviation, an aerospace company that is developing and commercializing all-electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. Toyota had set its sights on the sky, as well as on land, in its quest to deliver “Mobility for All.”

January was significant for another major initiative forged from a fundamental respect for the dignity of all people and the commitment to seek new ways to do and be better. The start of 2020 saw the creation of the Social Justice Action Committee; a powerful resource for allyship at Toyota. Though they could not know what was to come, this group undertook the important work of strengthening equity, diversity and inclusion.

February brought the first auto show of the year and the roll out of seven new Toyota SUV and pickup editions in Chicago. And in Daytona, the 2021 GR Supra was introduced. Though snow flurries swept across the country, these weeks would turn out to be the calm before the storm.

The Big Pivot

March is said to come in like a lion and out like a lamb. In 2020, the opposite was true. As the month opened, the U.S. saw the first signs of the escalating crisis that would soon transform the world as we knew it. And it wasn’t long before the COVID-19 pandemic began impacting the nation, and Toyota along with it. Toyota’s response was swift and steadfast: We are here for you.

By April, a new and changing reality meant evolving forms of support. With North American assembly plants paused, Toyota quickly began to deploy its strengths to shift from making vehicles to making a difference. For example, Toyota’s Manufacturing Projects Innovation Center in Georgetown, Kentucky, adapted its 3-D printing capability to make face shields, which were donated to front-line medical workers treating COVID patients.

At the same moment, Toyota dealers across the country were stepping up to help their local communities, with all hands on deck to help provide lunches to school-age children, free Wi-Fi and more in their communities.

The company made time, though, to serve the core mission of quality in a new way as Toyota Motor Credit Corporation created Mazda Financial Services, offering a suite of products to Mazda dealers and customers in the U.S.

But perhaps the biggest milestone during the pivotal month of April was the introduction of the new North American TMNA President and CEO, Tetsuo “Ted” Ogawa. In the middle of unprecedented challenges, Ogawa took the helm to create calm, following the course set by a steadfast respect for people.

It’s About People

Following Ogawa’s lead, throughout the spring and into early summer, the focus was on respect for the needs and contributions of others. In May, Toyota saw the milestone of a Top 10 Ranking for Diversity (out of its 2020 top 50 Companies for Diversity®)—the only automaker ranked in the Top 10.  Toyota dealers continued to show up for their communities, and the Toyota USA Foundation built upon the company’s ongoing COVID-19 relief efforts. Toyota Financial Services (TFS) was named one of the most community minded companies in the nation. In 2020, TFS issued its fifth Diversity and Inclusion (D+I) bond in the amount of $750 million, placing a spotlight on high-quality Minority- and Women-Owned Business Enterprise (MWBE) certified firms. The year also saw the issue of the company’s fifth Green Bond, an important component of TFS’ diversified funding program to serve and enhance Toyota’s extensive commitment to environmental causes.

In June, to honor the memory of George Floyd, Toyota reinforced their message—We see you. We hear you. And, we stand with you and for you—taking a moment to reflect by stopping the manufacturing line for 8 minutes and 46 seconds and offering a moment of silence across the organization.

And the African American Collaborative—a Toyota employee resource group—through a video produced to mark Juneteenth, reinforced the “respect for people” values inherent in social justice and equality for all.

Keeping it real is another way to show respect for those around us, and the Team Toyota Olympic and Paralympic athletes showed their vulnerable sides as they described the big pivots they had to take in the wake of the postponed Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020. “Start Your Impossible” took on a new meaning in 2020 and Team Toyota rose to the challenge.

Toyota’s “The Sienna Life” Campaign Celebrates Life’s Spontaneous Moments

The adventurous life awaits! “The Sienna Life” campaign, kicking off today, welcomes a refined and versatile minivan featuring bold design, available all-wheel drive, and enhanced fuel efficiency: the all-hybrid and all-new 2021 Toyota Sienna.

“The new campaign is inspired by our guests living their ‘Sienna life’ to the fullest, across a wide range of life stages and activities,” said Cynthia Tenhouse, vice president, Vehicle Marketing and Communications, Toyota Motor North America. “We hope ‘The Sienna Life’ campaign encourages viewers to discover a new appreciation for life’s special moments, no matter how large or small.”

The fully integrated Sienna campaign was developed against Toyota’s long-standing Total Toyota (T2) marketing model, fully considering the transcultural mainstream audiences across America.  Toyota campaigns are integrated through one strategic brief, creative idea, and media plan – and create a cohesive marketing approach inclusive of multicultural marketing and the total market model.  The T2 agency team includes Saatchi & Saatchi, Burrell Communications, Conill Advertising and Intertrend, with ZenithMedia placing TV and outdoor media buys.

The campaign showcases a unified style across all creative throughout the T2 agency broadcast spots, which are highlighted below:

In the spots created by Saatchi & Saatchi and directed by Dave Meyers, “Lakeside” features a group of girlfriends spontaneously pulling over to jump into a cold lake after one friend dares everyone — even though one opts to stay behind and enjoy the Sienna’s comfort. “Lucky” shows a number of friends arriving to a concert venue in full VIP style, complete with security waving them to premier parking right outside the backstage entrance.

In “Bold Statement,” created by Burrell Communications and directed by The Mill, a hip couple takes the “scenic route” on a drive through the city, giving everyone else an up-close look at their stylish Sienna.

Conill developed two  spots, “Phone” and “Cold,” that highlight the all-new Sienna’s available AWD capabilities allowing passengers to live memorable moments in the outdoors. In “Phone,” friends venture to a forest for a remarkable adventure only to swiftly leave as they discover that bears really can be found in caves. In “Cold,” a couple’s adventure takes them farther and into a colder environment than planned, demonstrating the Sienna’s AWD capability and best-in-class combined miles per gallon (MPG). The spots were directed by Nicolai Fuglsig.

Intertrend created two spots for the campaign: “Marathon,” where a family uses unique features available in the Sienna to relive moments from their favorite Korean drama; and “Team Outing,” which highlights a new way to work remotely and redefine work-life balance thanks to what the Sienna has to offer. The spots were directed by Gevorg Karensky.

Media Placements

“The Sienna Life” is a fully-integrated campaign extending across linear TV, digital video, digital content, programmatic, paid social, audio, and out-of-home. High-profile prime and sports programming includes the NBA, NFL, Daytona 500, Univision, CBS All Access, HGTV, ESPN Deportes, Discovery en Español, India Tour of Australia Cricket games on WillowTV, and more. Digital content/video includes partners such as Condé Nast, Refinery29, Tastemade, Hulu and Hulu Latino, Pinterest, PopSugar, Thrillist, Disney’s Mira the Royal Detective, DisneyNow and more. Partnerships include Stranger Things: The Drive-Into Experience, BET NAACP Image Awards, Vox, Curbed, Hola!, Amazon, and Spotify, among others. Social is across Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, and Reddit.

“The Sienna Life” spots are available for viewing here. For images and credits, please click here.

 About the 2021 Toyota Sienna

Designed, engineered and assembled in the U.S., the all-new 2021 Toyota Sienna raises the bar for style, safety, comfort, versatility and fuel efficiency in its segment. With a standard hybrid powertrain and an array of new technology and amenities, the fourth-generation Sienna comes in a choice of five grades — LE, XLE, XSE, Limited and Platinum — and is available at dealerships now.

Key features include:

• Standard hybrid powertrain with class-leading EPA-estimated 36 combined MPG
• Available All-Wheel Drive available on all grades
• Available 20” Wheels
• Standard 10 Airbags
• Standard Toyota Safety Sense 2.0 with Automatic Emergency Braking
• Standard Blind Spot Monitor on all grades
• Available dual power sliding doors and rear liftgate, with kick-motion open and close feature
• Available super-long-slide seats and captain’s chairs with built-in ottomans
• Equipped for all facets of life with a standard tow rating up to 3,500 pounds
• Factory optional 1500W power inverter with two outlets