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Toyota proposes a future where cars become pizza shops, hotels, and occasionally cars too

Master Blaster Jan 11, 2018
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The future is looking mighty bright for Toyota in this cartopia.

Toyota Motor Corporation unveiled their new concept car, the e-Palette, at this year’s CES (Consumer Electronics Show). This fully autonomous and electric vehicle is the centerpiece to their wider spanning Mobility Services Platform (MSPF), which aims to broaden the horizons of the humble automobile considerably.

Although it played a key role in transportation and as a human reproduction module throughout the 20th century, the car as we know it will soon cover a slew of new uses. As the following video shows, cars may soon also become your own private shoe store or mobile office space.

For example, a current problem with online shopping, particularly for shoes, is that you can’t actually touch or try on the product before purchasing. However, with an e-Palette fitted to become a shoe store on wheels, it will show up at your doorstep and let you try them on before you hand over your money.

Furthermore, all the troubles of setting up a giant holographic boxing match in the middle of nowhere will finally become a thing of the past with Toyota’s innovative system.

Of course, these are mere branches of the entire envisioned “mobility ecosystem” that Toyota wants to create. Although, if they really wanted to tout the performance of the vehicles they should have included a mobile LASIK e-Palette scooting by in the video.

All that aside, the traditional purposes of getting from point A to point B for people, as well as goods, is still present and enhanced under the e-Palette system, as the following video shows.

The e-Palette concept vehicle itself is basically a room on wheels, available in lengths from four to seven meters (13 to 23 feet). Since no driving controls are necessary, the interior can be decorated or have whatever needed equipment installed.

▼ With a Mobile Hotel you can stay while you go.

Vehicles are also intended to have a flexible control scheme shared between Toyota and other companies who have signed on to potentially use them, such as Amazon, Pizza Hut, Uber, and DiDi. Depending on the licensing agreement, Toyota’s system can handle as much or as little of the automated driving as partner companies want.

▼ So, if this Handcraft Market frequented by Sims characters happens to already have their own automated driving software developed, Toyota can accommodate it.

The e-Palette vehicle is only a concept, however, so we can’t expect the future to be exactly as sterilely white as the video depicts, nor with quite the same soothing Silicon-Valley-twinkly-piano soundtrack.

▼ But if there’s a future without Fab Lab, then baby, you can keep it.

However, the underlying system is certainly the way of the future because – let’s face it – there is money to be saved. In fact, Japan’s leading courier service Yamato Transport is already well into testing their own fleet of robotic delivery cars.

Toyota is just looking to get in on the trend in a big way, and with this open car concept, they have the potential to please both customers and companies alike.

Source, images: Toyota Motor Corporation