Toyota has developed an automated driving research vehicle called the Platform 3.0 – one of the most perceptive automated driving test cars on the road – based on a Lexus LS 600hL.
The Platform 3.0’s sensor-rich package utilises the Luminar LIDAR system with a 200 metre detection range. While previously only capable of detecting forward directions, it now covers the vehicle in every direction. This is possible with four high-resolution LIDAR scanning heads, which can precisely detect objects around the car especially those less visible in the dark.
Four shorter range LIDAR sensors are positioned low on all four corners of the vehicle – one on each front quarter panel and one each on the front and rear bumpers. They’re able to detect low-level and smaller objects around the car such as children and hazardous debris on the road.
A weather and temperature roof panel had been created to compact and conceal the sensors while cleverly utilising the space in the sunroof compartment to minimise the overall height of the vehicle. This ingenuity looks to seamlessly incorporate the sensors into the vehicle’s design without making it appear like bolt-on additions (although looking at the pictures, it seems like there’s a long way to go).
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