DETROIT, Sept. 25, 2014 /PRNewswire/-- American
cities are dramatically changing and face many challenges. How can
they address urban sustainability and the complexities of connected
technology?
Next week, Sept. 30 to Oct. 2,
Toyota leaders will join 350 of the world's greatest thinkers at
the Meeting of the Minds 2014 summit to explore this urban
transformation and ways of harnessing the power of technology.
Toyota is co-founder of the event and has been the presenting
sponsor since its inception in 2007.
With Detroit as the backdrop –
a city redefining itself for the future – Meeting of the Minds 2014
will spotlight innovations in urban sustainability and connected
technology. Toyota is playing a leading role in helping to advance
technology for improving safety and sustainability in urban
environments, highlights of which will be presented during the
summit. The three-day long summit will be at the College for Creative Studies' Taubman Center for
Design Education in Detroit.
"Like many cities who saw their own stars shine with the rise of
the Industrial Age, Detroit is now
at a tipping point and it offers the perfect platform for the
discussion of alternative urban futures," said Jessie Feller, executive director of the
non-profit Meeting of the Minds. "Toyota has been our partner for
this annual event, and their thought leadership will contribute
greatly to the robust discussions planned over the three days."
Chuck Gulash, director of
Toyota's Collaborative Safety Research Center (CSRC) at the Toyota
Technical Center in Ann Arbor,
Mich., will present during "The Complete Street of 2030"
workshop on Wednesday, Oct. 1. Toyota
believes that rapidly emerging technologies will have a profound
effect on automotive safety over the next five to 10 years. It is
investing in advanced connected and automated vehicle technologies
that hold the potential to revolutionize automotive safety with the
philosophy of always keeping the driver engaged.
Toyota is committed to expanding the use of advanced safety
technology across its product line. The company's goal is to be the
world's first full‐line manufacturer to offer a pre-collision
package on every vehicle, across the entire Toyota lineup, by 2017.
Doing so requires driving down costs to customers from luxury
vehicles, to trucks and SUVs, to the most affordable compacts.
On Thursday, Oct. 2, Nihar Patel, Toyota Motor Sales' vice president
of North American business strategy, will share the company's
vision for spotting and creating future trends and making
investment decisions during the "Dancing with Giants" session. He
will detail Toyota's work on fuel cell vehicles, which the company
expects to be the "next big thing" in automotive technology. Toyota
will begin selling its first commercial zero-emission hydrogen fuel
cell electric vehicle (FCV) next summer in California. Patel will also share Toyota's
plans to support the long-term operation and maintenance of a
hydrogen refueling station network in California. The Toyota FCV will be on display
to attendees of the Meeting of the Minds.
At the summit, Toyota will also show the newest generation
Driver Awareness Research Vehicle – DARV1.5 – which is part of the
company's ongoing research into the dynamics of driver distraction
at the CSRC. The Toyota DARV 1.5 uses advanced technology,
including Microsoft's Surface and Kinect and custom biometric
software and algorithms by Infosys, to help driver, passengers and
the vehicle itself work together as a team to achieve safer
driving.
The annual Meeting of the Minds summit is a global knowledge
sharing event that unites leading opinion-shapers, policy-makers,
thinkers and innovators. More information on the event is available
at cityminded.org.
About Toyota
Toyota, the world's top automaker and
creator of the Prius, is committed to building vehicles for the way
people live through our Toyota, Lexus and Scion brands. Over the
past 50 years, we've built more than 25 million cars and trucks in
North America, where we operate 14
manufacturing plants (10 in the U.S.) and directly employ nearly
40,000 people (more than 37,000 in the U.S.). Our 1,800 North
American dealerships sold more than 2.23 million cars and trucks in
2013 – and about 80 percent of all Toyota vehicles sold over the
past 20 years are still on the road today.
Toyota partners with philanthropic organizations across the
country, with a focus on education, safety and the environment. As
part of this commitment, we share the company's extensive know-how
garnered from building great cars and trucks to help community
organizations and other nonprofits expand their ability to do good.
(NYSE: TM) For more information about Toyota, visit
www.toyotanewsroom.com.
SOURCE Toyota Motor Sales, USA,
Inc.