Miniature remote controlled cars remained an enjoyment factor for the crowd while used at tracks and field throwing events, but Toyota Motor Corp is intending scaling up the game at Tokyo 2020 Olympics with an introduction of pint-sized, self-driving A.I. robot cars as an advanced technological way to fetch hammers and javelins.
The Japanese automaker came unveiling on Monday a prototype of its next-generation field support robot to be used at the Tokyo Games which is a mini size of its under development “e-Palette” ride-sharing vehicle having a miniature shuttle bus-shaped mechanism.
The vehicle having the size that is roughly similar to that of a toddler’s ride-on toy car can run at a maximum speed of 20 kilometers per hour and is equipped with three cameras and a LIDAR sensor that enables it to be informed about its surroundings.
A band of LED lights has been wrapped around the top of vehicle’s body which illuminate upon use of artificial intelligence by the vehicle while following event officials towards the equipment thrown by the athletes in events like discus throw, javelin, hammer throw or shot put.
The official after reaching on to the equipment thrown by athlete will then load it into the vehicle, which could weigh as much as 8 kilogram for hammers, and will press the button located on front of the vehicle which will send the car back carrying the equipment to the athlete for later use.
Although, for picking up the equipment from the field, humans are better suitable but robots are more efficient to perform the job when it comes to quickly transport that equipment back to their respective return depot, Takeshi Kuwabara, a project planning manager who oversaw the robot’s development, told reporters.
Leveraging the strengths of both humans and robots is the aim behind using these cars, he said.