Toyota halts its self-driving shuttle bus program

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Toyota halts its self-driving shuttle bus program

Toyota has suspended its self-driving shuttle bus program, following an incident at the Paralympic Games in Tokyo where one of its vehicles struck and injured one of the athletes competing at the event.

The athletes injuries were not life-threatening.

The ‘e-Palette’ autonomous transporter allegedly struck vision-impaired Judo competitor Aramitsu Kitazono after it did not stop at a pedestrian crossing. The incident happened within the confines of the Paralympic village.

The athlete was badly “cut and bruised” during the incident, and subsequently dropped out of the Paralympic games.

Reports are suggesting the electric fully autonomous transporter may have been under the control of a driver at the time of the incident.

The E-Pallette shuttle bus has been developed by Toyota's autonomous research division Woven Planet Holdings and was showcased by Toyota at the Olympic and Paralympic Games, as part of it’s sponsorship arrangements with the Japanese government and IOC.

Toyota has plans for the e-Palette bus to be available for commercial operations within the next five years.