| TOKYO, Oct. 30 – At the Japan Mobility Show 2023, held at Tokyo Big Sight in Koto Ward, Tokyo, Toyota’s autonomous-driving mobile shop vehicle attracted visitors’ attention. The vehicle will address the shortage of drivers and assist people having difficulties accessing retail stores in some areas of Japan.
The shop car is a little smaller than a minibus and won’t block tr  Autonomous-driving pop-up shop vehicle exhibited by Toyota Motor Corporation affic even if it’s parked in a house yard. It has no seat but shelves, a fridge, and a liquid crystal display (LCD) screen. One of the attractions of the vehicle is that shoppers can enjoy chatting with an artificial intelligence (AI) figure on the screen by talking to a microphone. If you tell the figure what you want to eat, the AI can suggest the dishes you can cook using the products sold in the car. The onboard shopping guide can also show you, based on the conversation about your favorite fruits, which available smoothie you may like, and you can buy it in the car using your smartphone. “It’ll take time to put it into practical use, but we’d like to demonstrate that, in the future, the shop cars will come and help the people living in hilly or mountainous areas and make it easier for them to do their shopping,” an engineer from Toyota said. |