Toyota showed some of its up and coming safety innovations in a demonstration to reporters Thursday at its facility in this town, west of Tokyo, near Mount Fuji. Sudden cardiovascular irregularity (such as ventricular fibrillation) while driving can cause a driver to lose consciousness, thus creating a potentially dangerous situation. Toyota’s newly developed emergency-response technology is the result of research on a system to monitor cardiovascular functions through the driver’s grasp of the steering wheel and to detect risks. By conducting further research, Toyota aims to commercialize a system that can contribute to the prevention of major accidents caused by sudden changes in the driver’s physical condition.
Toyota plans to publicly exhibit details of its research at the 28th General Assembly of the Japan Medical Congress starting on April 2 at the Tokyo Big Sight exhibition center in Odaiba, Tokyo.