Car of the future has air bags on the outside
While many car manufacturers are working on getting self-driving cars on the road by 2020, Toyoda Gosei is looking further down the road.
Toyoda Gosei will be showing off the car tech of the future at this year's Tokyo Car Show.
The Japanese company, known for its plastics, LED and car safety technology, will be unveiling the Flesby, a concept vehicle for the ultra-small mobility cars that Toyoda Gosei thinks will be on the streets by 2030.
The Flesby's most notable feature, apart from its small size, is that its entirely encased in external airbags, which it will deploy when an impending collision is detected.
Toyoda will also be showcasing numerous internal safety features and technologies, such as the Signal Cockpit Link, which uses of LEDs to recreate the environmental lighting and view outside the vehicle in a stunning internal panorama. The futuristic interior is also purported to sense the drivers mood and posture, which in turn will then be used to alter the interior, including lighting, music and ambiance.
The company, which is partially owned by Toyota, will be separating itself at the Tokyo Car Show by looking even further ahead than many other car manufacturers, who have their eyes set on 2020 -- the year by which Google, Toyota, Nissan and Honda, among others, hope to release self-driving automobiles for sale in the next five years.
Visitors to the Toyoda Gosei exhibit will be able to experience first hand all of the safety and illumination features that the company has in development and on offer, including a head-on collision simulator designed to raise safety awareness.
Other features, such as LED dome lamps, LED grille illumination and capless fuel fillers, will be available at the exhibit, as well as a wireframe mockup of the Flesby and its numerous technologies. The Tokyo Car Show kicks off on October 29 and lasts until November 8.