Japanese automaker Toyota unveiled a new concept self-driving car at the CES 2017 on Wednesday called "Concept-i" which notifies the cars driving behind it about upcoming road hazards. It also greets both the driver and the passengers approaching it, and the car's integrated virtual companion "Yui" learns the driver's behavior and driving pattern.

Like Us on Facebook

Toyota built the concept with its Newport Beach CALTY design research group, with tech supplied by the carmaker's San Francisco-based innovation hub. CALTY Project Design Manager William Chergosky told Tech Crunch that it was about finding a way to bring the excitement people feel about driving now to a potential future in which autonomous driving is much more prevalent.

Chergosky explained that their aim is to create a futuristic vision for the 2030 automobile that's fun to drive. According to him, a big part of achieving that comes down to user experience design which is why the Concept-i pays close attention to how the car greets the user, and how it signals a shift from manual to autonomous driving mode. Additionally, the LED lights across the car's body and throughout the interior cue the drivers about their driving experience, setting the tone for either method of control.

To "humanize" or warm up the technology and make it more approachable by trying to narrow the gap between human and technology, they took the idea of "kinetic warmth" as a core guiding principle in designing the Concept-i. This is how an AI placed at the center of the in-car experience called "Yui" (you-EE) was born. This virtual companion has been designed to get to know the driver both as a driver and as a person, and then to adapt its behavior to best provide that "waku-doki" that Toyota aims for - that spirit of driving excitement.