Smart INSECT- Toyota’s cloud-enabled, City Car Concept

Toyota showed off a new concept version based ultra-compact, single passenger electric vehicle  “Smart INSECT” at CEATEC JAPAN 2012 last week. INSECT acronymed for “information network social electric city transporter”.

“This car is based on the concept of connecting people, cars, and homes. It was developed by an IT engineer and has technologies such as telematics built in,” said Yuji Amano, a group manager at Toyota.

The entire car’s dashboard appears to have been replaced by a large  touchscreen, and the owner’s smartphone sits in a cradle at the right-hand side of the steering yoke. Smart INSECT syncs online services from the mobile handsets, while also providing wireless charging! It is billing the electric car as a networked device that will support users on the road much the way their phones do when they are on foot.  Fitted with motion sensors, voice recognition and behavior prediction technology, INSECT would  monitor the driver’s face and activate in-cabin features, fog-lights — or even set a destination in the smartphone.

By accessing users’ smartphones, Toyota will also gain access to information about its customers beyond their driving habits. As user data accumulates in the cloud, the system learns the driver’s preferences and common destinations, such as “home” or “office.” It could also make suggestions – from restaurants to playlists – based on personal tastes, and allow owners to lock up their house or activate the home’s air conditioner on the way there!

The car is based on Toyota’s Coms , which sells in Japan for about US$9,000. The Coms runs at 60 kilometers per hour, and can drive for about 50 kilometers on a six-hour charge.