Smart Community BusinessConnecting people, vehicles and society to create comfortable mobility society
What is Smart Community?
Analyze and use data collected from networks.
A system to make future car-life safer and more comfortable.
To get some examples, data can be used in the following ways.
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- Passable Route Map
- The routes taken by vehicles during disasters such as large-scale earthquake can be displayed on the map in different colors. By showing roads that are passable in a timely manner, the maps can be used to indicate roads that are impassable due to road damage or collapsed buildings.
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- Traffic Jam Information
- Data on vehicle speeds is collected and areas where vehicle speeds are slow are marked as traffic jam and transmitted to a navigation system. In addition, the information is utilized for forecasting the tendency of traffic jam which differentiates in times and days.
Introduction Example
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- Ha:mo
- A system of micro-EV sharing service. It provides appropriate route options to the destination in combination of the use of public transportation (using park & ride, etc.). Demonstration trials are currently underway in Japan and overseas to realize people-friendly, community-friendly, society-friendly transportation.
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- G-Station
- Manufacture and sale of charging stations for electric vehicles. The stations can be used to charge leading plug-in hybrid vehicles and electric vehicles in Japan. User authentication is simple by using an IC card, and use history and other information are gathered in the Toyota Smart Center. Information on charging station availability and location is provided.
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- Charging Maps
- Users can find the charger type from various charger information such as GPS, keyword and refined search and search charging spots where is allowed to use charging cards.. The maps cover all charging stations nationwide regardless of maker. Information on station availability is also shared so that users can avoid traveling to stations that are in use.
Work Interview
- Hiroyuki Maehira, Department Manager
- Social Community Department,
Smart Community Business Division
The Role as New Business Division Considering the Automobile Market Overall
The Smart Community Business Division was established as a business division in January 2015. The core concept is "connected". The division will use the Internet of things (IoT) and offer services that do not yet exist to provide safer and more comfortable car-life. For example, the division will use big data collected from vehicles to produce new services. It will also develop new businesses in response to changes affecting the entire automobile market such as the shift from ownership to sharing. The division is responsible for the launch of new businesses with these targets. Manager Maehira explained, "Our role is to give form to services that would be useful but are difficult to put into practice".
Change the World with Previously Unseen Services!
The division also seeks to make their own services be a platform and aim for collaborattion with various service providers. The goal is to create new mobility services. "There are automobile makers, dealers and us who provide services to a driver. The status of the car is currently changing, so we have to produce services by taking into consideration how automobile industry should be in the future as a whole.It is a job with no right answers, and the difficulties of creation are even greater than anticipated. Even so, our services will have an impact on the world and will please some people. The sense of purpose and uplift is going to be my motivation."
