With two years to go until the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020, Toyota today outlined the mobility concept that will become the basis for its Tokyo 2020 Games activities, organized around three main pillars : (1) Mobility for all; (2) Sustainability, centering on the realization of a hydrogen society, with the environment and safety as core principles; and (3) Transportation support of staff, media and athletes between Games venues using a Toyota Production System (TPS)-based system.
Toyota believes that giving unprecedented access to people including those with impairments brings the notion of mobility back to its most fundamental meaning: the freedom to move.
In collaboration with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee, the company would like to help make Tokyo, the first host city to welcome both the Olympic and the Paralympic Games for the second time, a global showcase for “Mobility for All,” contributing to making those Games the most innovative in history.
“The freedom of being mobile is at the heart of being able to participate in society,” said Toyota President Akio Toyoda. “If someone wants to take on a challenge and moving is what is preventing them from doing so, Toyota would like to help tackle that problem. We want mobility to be a possibility, not an obstacle. By being involved with the Olympics, the Paralympics and the Special Olympics Games, I hope that Toyota will come to respect everyone’s uniqueness and embrace diversity. Once that is realized, we will finally be able to take a step closer to our goal of “mobility for all” and ensure, like athletes show us every day, that being mobile equals having a chance to make one’s dreams come true.”
Toyota became the first worldwide mobility partner of the IOC and the IPC in 2015 with the aim to contribute to “creating a peaceful society without discrimination through sports” and “a commitment to creating a sustainable society through mobility”. Additionally, from last year, Toyota launched its first global corporate initiative, “Start Your Impossible,” to bring people together and contribute to a society where all people can challenge what is possible. The product categories covered by the Toyota sponsorship are: vehicles, mobility services and certain transportation and mobility support products (including robots). At Tokyo 2020, Toyota’s support will be deployed in three main areas:
1. “Mobility for All”, Taking on the challenge to provide the freedom to move to everyone including those with impairments through the Tokyo 2020 games, Toyota will:
* Showcase the future of automated driving as the ultimate “mobility for all”, demonstrating how automated vehicles could one day offer the freedom to move everyone. Verification testing and demonstrations using SAE Level 4* automation, where all driving functions are performed by the vehicle in certain well-defined areas of operation, will take place in the Tokyo Water Front City and Haneda areas in Tokyo;
* Introduce a new type of moving experience through a demonstration of “TOYOTA Concept-i,” a car that recognizes drivers’ emotions and preferences and can make conversation using artificial intelligence (AI);
* Support transportation services for athletes and affiliated guests around the Athlete’s Village with e-Palette, the next generation battery electric vehicle specially designed for Mobility as a Service (MaaS); * Provide its existing assistive vehicles lineup, WelCab, as well as new personal mobility devices and support for last-mile mobility needs.
* Toyota also hopes its new JPN Taxi, introduced in October 2017, will be popular around Tokyo to welcome visitors from around the world, including people using wheelchairs. * Provide personal mobility solutions such as the Toyota i-ROAD as well as a standing-riding device to support working staff at the Games, such as security officers. 2 Sustainability, with the environment and safety as core principles, centered on the realization of a hydrogen society
Toyota plans to contribute to sustainable Games by providing a fleet of over 3,000 passenger vehicles for official use and others, equipped with the latest environmental and safety technologies to minimize environmental burden and traffic accidents.
* In order to make Tokyo 2020 a turning point in realizing a hydrogen society, Toyota will support the Games and their legacy with a large number of zero-emission hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV) such as the Mirai sedan for official use. In addition, the Fuel Cell Bus “Sora,” as well as Fuel Cell forklifts made and sold by Toyota Industries Corporation, will help support the Games. * In addition to FCEV, the latest Hybrid Electric/Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEV/PHEV) from the Toyota and Lexus line-ups, as well as new Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV), will mainly compose the rest of the fleet. In total, the company and the Games’ organisers aim to achieve the lowest emissions target level of any official vehicle fleet used at the Olympic and Paralympic Games with the use of these official vehicles. * Vehicles for official use will be equipped with the latest active safety technology packages such as Toyota Safety Sense (TSS) and Lexus Safety System+ (LSS+), as well as Parking Support Brake (PKSB), a technology to help prevent collisions that primarily occur in parking lots and garages.
* In addition to official vehicles above, some vehicles will feature Highway Teammate, an automated driving safety function that allows hands-off driving on highways (SAE Level 2* automation). 3. Games official transportation support using the Toyota Production System
It is estimated that 15 million visitors will join Tokyo’s 15 million citizens during the Games period. While the Tokyo Metropolitan Area will surely live up to its reputation as one of the most efficient cities for urban mobility, Toyota will support the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee to help ensure a safe and effective transportation between venues for those using the official fleet. To do this, the company will provide the knowledge it has garnered over years of experience applying the Toyota Production System.
* Toyota will also support the movement of official staff and athletes to and from events with the latest information and connected technologies, such as vehicle Data Communication Modules connected to its Mobility Service Platform, to provide safe, secure, and smooth transportation of people and freight during the games.
* Toyota will also support on-the-ground vehicle dispatching and transportation operations from an efficiency standpoint.
Cities around the world currently face challenges surrounding mobility, having to solve issues ranging from traffic congestion to air pollution, traffic accidents, and access for people with impairments. Starting from Tokyo 2020 and through Beijing 2022 and Paris 2024, Toyota is hoping to help tackle these challenges in collaboration with stakeholders around the world, and contribute to creating legacy to realize a sustainable mobility society.
Toyota will disclose more of its plans and contributions, including those related to new mobility products and solutions, moving forward between now and Tokyo 2020.
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