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Auto Toyota Developing In-car Operating System
Brandon Hill (Blog) - April 2, 2007 2:44 PM

43 comment(s) - last by EnderIII.. on Apr 11 at 8:17 PM

Toyota hopes to have its own operating system in place by 2012

Toyota seems to always be in the news these days. When it isn't nipping at General Motors' heels to be the new #1 auto manufacturer in the world, it's in the news for its hybrid technology or its reluctance to allow the UAW to infiltrate more of its manufacturing plants in the United States.

DailyTech last brought you news of Toyota's interest in car software back in February. At the time, the company was working on new in-car GPS mapping software that would not only provide real-time traffic updates, but also updates on newly open/closed roads within a user-specified area.

The Japanese company is now looking to take its software efforts one-step further with its own in-car operating system. The move would further help the company streamline its operations and stay one step ahead of the competition. Toyota is always looking for ways to make itself more efficient and drive costs down.

Instead of using dedicated, ground-up software that is vehicle and control specific, Toyota's approach would offer a standard operating system with plug-ins that would be suitable for a wide variety of vehicles ranging from a lowly Toyota Yaris to a high-end Lexus LS600L h.

Other auto manufacturers have looked to third-parties to provide operating systems for various control functions. BMW for example uses a version of Windows CE for its much-maligned iDrive system. iDrive allows drivers to control various vehicle functions including GPS navigation, communications, HVAC, radio/CD/DVD playback and various other in-car functions.

Toyota’s operating system is currently being developed in conjunction with Denso Corp. and Aisin Seiki Co. Ltd. The first working version of the operating system is still pretty far in the future and will likely not be ready until 2015.

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Smart

By Misty Dingos on 4/2/2007 2:54:59 PM , Rating: 1

I am so glad that I buy Toyotas. This is a company working to keep customers (and yes make profits too). I highly recommend them. And after years of torture I can not recommend VWs. They are the bane of the auto world. VW's are accursed euro-trash. Vile over engineered, rolling repair bills. They should all be recalled and melted down and turned into boat anchors! I really don't like VWs.

RE: Smart

By cyberguyz on 4/2/2007 3:01:23 PM , Rating: 2

I'm guessing here that you are less than pleased with VW...

I agree with your sentiments about Toyotas. I've been very happy with every one I have owned (a total of 4 now).

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RE: Smart

By Misty Dingos on 4/2/2007 3:13:28 PM , Rating: 3

I am at 5 and counting. The VW that set my arrow against them is the 1995 Passat that had two fuel pumps that would break in series, door handles that would break and not let you in or out of the car, suspension system completely inadequate for the weight of the car, a radio antenna that cost $150 to replace and broke every other year, battery life that could be measured in months instead of years. It was my wife's car, she loved it until I talked her into a Toyota. She now drives a Solara and is in love with that car.

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RE: Smart

By UNCjigga on 4/2/2007 3:47:49 PM , Rating: 2

My 2006 Passat has been nothing but trouble. I'm hoping to sell soon to some unsuspecting hip urbanite with money to burn.

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RE: Smart

By Misty Dingos on 4/2/2007 3:50:04 PM , Rating: 2

Friends don't let friends drive Volkswagens. Good luck in dumping your boat anchor.

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RE: Smart

By derdon on 4/2/2007 5:46:54 PM , Rating: 1

"[My wife] now drives a Solara and is in love with that car."

That's hard, but I'm sure you'll get over it!

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RE: Smart

By anomqwerty on 4/2/07, Rating: -1

RE: Smart

By h0kiez on 4/2/2007 3:41:18 PM , Rating: 4

And apparently you're ignorant of the meaning of the word racists. Retard.

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RE: Smart

By Misty Dingos on 4/2/2007 3:48:32 PM , Rating: 3

I am so sorry I have offened you. But to clarify. Europeans are not a race. There are any number of races and ethnic divisions in Europe. So simply calling a car a euro-trash would not by itself indicate some ill feeling toward those persons (of any race or nationality) residing in or coming from any of the countries that make up Europe. So using the term (derogatory to be sure) euro-trash does not make me racist.

While I can see that you might feel that I was demeaning those of European extraction but that was not my intent. I think European people are for the most part intelligent, friendly and honest people. I count many among my friends. My sole intent was to demean an automobile company. Now having said all of this. If you are a quality control officer for the VW company, please remain insulted.

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RE: Smart

By roadhog74 on 4/3/2007 6:36:18 AM , Rating: 2

<oddbuttrue>
I am sure you won't be interested at all
but in recent case law it was
considered that bloody foreigners was a rascist remark.
</oddbuttrue>

and while that might be pushing the boundary,
would not african crap or asian crap be considered rascist?
just as many, if not more, ethnic groups in africa and asia
as in europe.

Anyway to dump on all european maufacturers based on
performance of VW, which is done by implication,
is a poor effort to say the least.

after all toyota and nissan are not (usually) bad cars
just because mitsubishi cannot build something to save
themselves.

regards

off course i suspect the other person is yanking your
chain.

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RE: Smart

By TheGreek on 4/3/2007 12:03:32 PM , Rating: 2

It's not your fault VWs don't hold up well enough not to be called trash.

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RE: Smart

By LatinMessiah on 4/3/2007 12:30:21 PM , Rating: 2

"Euro trash" doesn't exactly refer to the litter found on European sidewalks.

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RE: Smart

By TheGreek on 4/4/2007 1:20:22 PM , Rating: 2

The subject of the remarks was VW. Assumning it to be of European people shows only the prejudice of the person hearing the comment, not the person saying it.

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RE: Smart

By KaiserCSS on 4/2/2007 10:12:56 PM , Rating: 3

I believe the term you are searching for is "nationalist". Oh, and I do believe you mean the contraction "you're", not the possessive "your". Sorry, pet peeve.

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RE: Smart

By FITCamaro on 4/2/07, Rating: -1

RE: Smart

By Samus on 4/3/2007 5:34:37 AM , Rating: 2

ooooooooooooooooook buddy, lemme know how your next GM turns out then.

k thx bye

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RE: Smart

By Samus on 4/3/2007 5:36:18 AM , Rating: 3

ohh, i wanted to add that toyota's are notorious for head gasket failures in hot climates. toyota supra 7m-gte and toyota pickup (all series) have issues. but, its relatively cheap to repair when you consider that nothing else unusual ever breaks.

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RE: Smart

By TheGreek on 4/3/2007 12:10:08 PM , Rating: 2

Will it match the 70's Chevy Vega and it's non-stainless steel (rust prone) head gasket?

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RE: Smart

By Moishe on 4/3/2007 7:38:20 AM , Rating: 2

You're obviously pretty ignorant about American cars. There are quite a few very reliable and affordable American cars out there. Toyota and Honda still have the name recognition for reliability, but I'd buy a GM car any day and I know that overall it would be a good car. Try doing some minor research and you'll see plenty of Malibus with 200k+ miles and still going strong. The Cobalt is an excellent little car. The GM mid-size SUVs (while ugly as piss) are reliable and strong. Heck, in the last 5 years GM has put out mostly good solid cars.

The difference is, people are still stuck on the old reputation. It's understandable, but it's a shame.

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RE: Smart

By TheGreek on 4/3/2007 12:01:33 PM , Rating: 2

" Try doing some minor research and you'll see plenty of Malibus with 200k+ miles and still going strong.?"

I see them in CNY, with massive chunks of paint falling off the cars. But I am sure they are more reliable than a 1980 Citation, which is saying absolutely nothing.

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RE: Smart

By theapparition on 4/3/2007 8:44:42 AM , Rating: 3

quote:
ooooooooooooooooook buddy, lemme know how your next GM turns out then.

GM is ranked second this year in initial quality, right behind Toyota. So, I think he'll be fine, despite your obvious concern :)

Mercedes is dead last, and if they were even ranked, I bet Ferrari's would be pretty horrible too. That says nothing about the appeal of either car, just its history of repair.
I find Toyota as a bland uninspiring brand that makes reliable cars. They don't have a single model in their line up (or Lexus/Scion brand) that appeals to me. To each thier own.

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RE: Smart

By otispunkmeyer on 4/3/2007 3:45:04 AM , Rating: 2

LOL - i think we must send the crummiest of the crop off to the US because your used to crummy from GM.

VW's arent that bad, the polo is pretty grim and a mite unstable, but the golf, new jetta, passat, pheaton and toureg are really nice cars. my mate has a 2.0liter TDi golf...its a good car, hasnt gone wrong once in 3 years, and its one of the best built cars i have ever been in.

mercedes on the other hand, well theyre dragging themselves out of a quality crisis...they embarked on a cost cutting venture a while back and their cars suffered.

audi.... always and still are rock solid.

they dont come top in the surveys like the TG survey, those spaces are almost exclusively japanese, but skoda (poor mans VW) are usually right up there.

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RE: Smart

By Misty Dingos on 4/3/2007 7:52:08 AM , Rating: 2

This is simply a follow up post. I am not trying in any way to sway thinking about what car you buy or drive. Here are some articles concerning vehicle reliability.

What I take from these articles is that the Toyota Motor Corporation takes reliability seriously and Volkswagen does not.

In my OPINION the VW corporation plans a certain amount of repair into the cars they make as a prop to their overall corporate strategy. It is either that or they are grossly incompetent. The Germans I have met are not incompetent.

http://consumerist.com/consumer/consumer-reports/1...
Passat: Worst Car

http://images.businessweek.com/ss/06/08/jdpowerwin...
Not one VW in this group at all.

http://money.cnn.com/popups/2006/autos/reliable/10...
No VWs in the most reliable category. Three in the least reliable.

http://money.cnn.com/2004/11/08/pf/autos/cr_auto_r...
No VWs in the reliable category. Five in the least reliable.

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RE: Smart

By TheGreek on 4/3/2007 12:06:24 PM , Rating: 2

My Rabbit needed struts every 30K miles, no matter how much time goes by. A $500 repair job for a set of 30 cents o-rings. My Toyota has 210K on the perfectly usable original struts.

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in related news...

By Quiksel on 4/2/2007 3:14:26 PM , Rating: 2

Toyota unveiled an exciting new feature of the operating system they are lovingly referring to as "TOSS" (Toyota Operating System Software). When an oncoming collision is imminent, the software quickly ejects all passengers into the air to escape the carnage. Once ejected, parachutes are deployed, and the passengers are brought back safely to the ground.

Toyota claims this will reduce fatalities in car accidents by up to 99%.

;)

RE: in related news...

By TejTrescent on 4/2/2007 3:26:18 PM , Rating: 2

Oh come on. If this actually happened, I couldn't be the only person who'd plan to try it out at least once. >_>

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RE: in related news...

By akyp on 4/2/2007 9:55:01 PM , Rating: 2

That's good until someone crashes under a bridge... ;)

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RE: in related news...

By TheGreek on 4/3/2007 12:13:28 PM , Rating: 2

They also have the Cheney Restraint System. If the system detects you're drunk it shoots you in the face.

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At least they arent licensing Vista!

By Doormat on 4/2/2007 4:15:19 PM , Rating: 1

Brings new meaning to "crash" and "blue screen of death".

RE: At least they arent licensing Vista!

By Cincybeck on 4/2/2007 6:53:41 PM , Rating: 1

Most company's are going toward digital controlled gas. We already had a new Explorer(or as we like to call Exploders) in the shop for a digital gas pedal that wasn't working. The computer had to be flashed to fix whatever buggered it up. What's scary is the big rigs are going all digital. Gas, Brakes, and steering... Some of which are going to joysticks to control the truck. How does that make you feel that, that brand new, Mercedes 18 wheeler next to you is being piloted by a glorified Logitech MOMO racing wheel or Saitek joystick? =P

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RE: At least they arent licensing Vista!

By Triring on 4/2/2007 8:29:20 PM , Rating: 2

Drive wire has been in the industry for a good 5 years.
Whether it be anti-lock breaks, or other features they are mostly digitally enhanced not hydraulic so I suggest you get over it.

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RE: At least they arent licensing Vista!

By kkwst2 on 4/3/2007 3:20:28 PM , Rating: 2

Exactly. And it's long overdue. Hydraulic assist is one of the heaviest, least reliable things on a car. It's just stupid when we have such cheap and reliable electric motors.

Just to clarify, if the computer crashes, you don't lose the breaks or steering. You just lose the assist and/or features. And it's not that hard to turn a car or push breaks, especially if you're not fighting the mechanical disadvantage of a hydraulic system.

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Very nice but...

By Warren21 on 4/2/2007 3:05:44 PM , Rating: 2

Where's my MKV Supra?

Toyota needs to resurrect their pavement-pounding flagship so that I can buy one, seeing as it has become very hard to find MKIV Supras with low mmileage and near-stock (hate buying pre-tuned cars).

RE: Very nice but...

By Noya on 4/2/2007 4:09:06 PM , Rating: 2

Read some car magazines.

The new Supra should be out shortly. There are reportedly two models. One with a tuned version of the IS350 3.5L V6 and one with a 5.0L V8, that I'd imagine is derived from the 4.8 in the LS400. They're looking to squash the 350z.

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Oh my god!...

By thartist on 4/3/2007 12:12:00 PM , Rating: 2

"my car threw an error 4345 and turned off while i was in a bend!" :/

i had to reset :)

RE: Oh my god!...

By EnderIII on 4/11/2007 8:17:40 PM , Rating: 2

"Error:404

Road not found"

??

Anyways i think we should start networking cars together, wouldn't it be great to know high traffic areas? or when you are to close to another car?

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Hmmm....

By gambit6259 on 4/2/07, Rating: 0

RE: Hmmm....

By dsx724 on 4/2/2007 4:07:29 PM , Rating: 1

I second that. When i hit the gas, my camry lags before actually going forward. Plus, the steering wheel is way too light and the car rolls ways too much.

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RE: Hmmm....

By Moishe on 4/3/2007 11:56:48 AM , Rating: 2

Yes, but what you're paying for when you get a small Honda or Toyota is a reliable car that doesn't use a lot of gas. You're not paying for a car that is fast. You're talking about what is essentially the quality of a Kia. A Camry is just another cheap car. Every car brand has one. You get what you pay for. If you buy a low-end car you get low end performance.

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Another point of view

By Cincybeck on 4/2/2007 6:29:33 PM , Rating: 1

Don't get me wrong on the consumer side Toyota's are great, but from the technicians point of view, they suck. So if you ever get a bill for something you're familiar with and wonder why it's so expensive it's because it was really damn hard to do.

RE: Another point of view

By robber98 on 4/2/2007 9:11:08 PM , Rating: 2

quote:
because it was really damn hard to do

Compare to what?

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Own two Nissans

By TimberJon on 4/2/2007 3:16:24 PM , Rating: 2

I own two 3rd Gen Nissan Maximas.

Toyota will probably be our next purchase.

And Maybe a supra, because their parts and maintance prices are low. low-low.