Toyota Puts $1 Billion on Artificial Intelligence Project

Toyota's a driven one, isn't it?

Apart from the recent $50 million investment the Japanese giant car manufacturer endowed to Ivy League universities Stanford and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Toyota has bequeathed another $1 billion to be devoted to Artificial Intelligence and Robotics research and spread over five years, according to a report by LA Times. Toyota Motor Corp. President Akio Toyoda announced on Friday that it will be developing two new facilities in Silicon Valley to kick off the AI and robotics research in January - a step forward on its intent to develop futuristic, self-driving cars.

According to New York Post, the first 200-staff research facility -- slated for the January opening -- will be in close proximity to Stanford while the second one will be located near MIT in Cambridge.

Presently, the Japanese automaker has been making small breakthroughs in the AI and robotics industry having developed robots whose designs cater to human needs and entertainment.

For instance, Toyota has designed an R2 D2 look-alike robot which functions to aid the elderly, the sick, and those in wheelchairs by "picking up and carrying objects" for them. They also have automatons that perform and play musical instruments for fun. Even before they dipped their toes into robotics developments, they already have been employing the use of robotic arms and machines in the production of their cars - particularly assemblage and painting, as per New York Post.

To drive home the message that the automaker's vision was more than about just cars, Toyoda appeared at a Tokyo hotel with high profile robotics expert Gill Pratt, who will head the new organization called Toyota Research Institute Inc.

A former program manager at the US military's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and a "high profile robotics expert," Gill Pratt joined President Toyoda at a press conference in a Tokyo hotel as the car manufacturer's technical adviser for its research endeavours in both Stanford and MIT. Reinforcing the company's vision which transcends car advancements, Pratt emphasized that Toyota's goals include making cars accident free, allowing everyone to drive regardless of capacity and supporting the elderly in their homes through robotics.

"The goal is to do away with the tragedy of car accidents," Pratt told reporters, as per New York Post.

Pratt also shared to the media present that he chose to join Toyota because it was "so focused on social good."

Recognizing that there is a current competition for autonomous driving -- with the likes of Google, Apple, General Motors, Tesla, etc getting in on the mission to "pioneer" AI in cars, Pratt announced that his organization will be taking on new researchers and engineers to help the company in R&D.