Edgar Su / reuters
On the fourth day of the Paralympic Games, Toyota decided to stop e-Palettes for a demonstration of self-driving cars after a vehicle crashed into a passerby. According to Reuters, the car was parked at an intersection, and when it restarted at a slow speed of 2 kilometers per hour, it hit a visually impaired player. Although the self-driving car is actually manual driving, so it is not considered the head of the self-driving system, Toyota still decided to stop all vehicles.
Toyota announced in 2019 that it will launch e-Palettes electric self-driving cars at the Olympic and Paralympic Games. There are a total of 20 vehicles in the entire fleet, driving along the established loop route at a maximum speed of 20km/h. There is also a “safety assistant” on board to ensure safety. After the Olympics, Toyota will also make special modifications to vehicles for the Paralympics. In addition to installing electric ramps and allowing each vehicle to have space for four wheelchairs, it also needs to adjust a part of the interior of the vehicle. To assist color-blind passengers.
The identity of the player who was hit is unknown, but it does not seem to have suffered any serious injuries. After being sent to the doctor for examination, it was reported that he had returned to the athletes’ village on his own and continued to participate in the competition afterwards.