Toyota’s enhanced sonar tech helps drivers when parking or setting off

Toyota Motor Corporation has enhanced its Intelligence Clearance Sonar (ICS) technology, which helps prevent or mitigate collisions when parking or setting off. In addition, a new viewing mode has been added to Toyota's Panoramic View Monitor, which helps drivers check their surroundings before setting off. Toyota plans to use these updated systems in models launched in 2015.

Toyota's current ICS function detects obstacles and helps prevent or mitigate collisions caused by rapid acceleration after pedal misapplication. The new ICS includes more sensors and can detect objects further away, contributing to an increase in scanning depth and breadth. In addition, the control logic has been improved to help prevent or mitigate collisions with adjacent vehicles or obstacles even when pedal misapplication is not the cause, such as during low-speed driving in parking lots or when pulling out of parking spaces.

Toyota's Intelligent Parking Assist system now uses ICS to help prevent or mitigate collisions through automated braking. In addition, a new multi-point turn support function automatically controls steering¹ in tight parking spaces requiring repeated back and forth movements. Another partially-automated function assists departure from parallel parking spaces with little room in front of and behind the vehicle.

Panoramic View Monitor

The Panoramic View Monitor ― which currently displays an overhead view of the vehicle on the navigation system screen ― has been enhanced with a new See-through View. Pressing a button allows the driver to flip between Moving View, which displays video as if looking down on the vehicle, and See-through View, which gives a driver's-perspective view of the vehicle's surroundings as if the vehicle itself were transparent. Compared to Moving View, See-through View displays obstacles larger, making them easier to identify.

These improvements to Toyota's parking support systems are intended to enhance safety in parking lots, where approximately 30 percent of accidents resulting in property damage occur.