Toyota
OEM : Automotive
Toyota will lead the future mobility society, enriching lives around the world with the safest and most responsible ways of moving people. Through our commitment to quality, ceaseless innovation, and respect for the planet, we strive to exceed expectations and be rewarded with a smile. We will meet challenging goals by engaging the talent and passion of people who believe there is always a better way.
Assembly Line
Idemitsu and Toyota Announce Beginning of Cooperation toward Mass Production of All-Solid-State Batteries for BEVs
Idemitsu Kosan Co.,Ltd. (Idemitsu) and Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) announced today that they have entered into an agreement to work together in developing mass production technology of solid electrolytes, improving productivity and establishment a supply chain, to achieve the mass production of all-solid-state batteries for battery electric vehicles (BEVs). Through this collaboration, the two companies, which lead the world in the fields including material development relating to all-solid-state batteries, seek to ensure the successful commercialization of all-solid-state batteries in 2027-28―as announced at the Toyota Technical Workshop in June 2023―followed by full-scale mass production.
Toyota Improves Engine Assembly
As examples of how the plant is contributing to the company’s goal of carbon neutrality, Matsuoka points to a manual assembly line that uses karakuri—material handling mechanisms that do not rely on electricity—and a casting line that has eliminated the need for large-scale equipment. By using karakuri mechanisms, engineers have been able to improve lifting operations so that they can be done with a single touch. Since parts can be moved without applying a large amount of force, safety issues are also solved, meaning that covers are no longer needed.
Although casting requires a large amount of energy, improvements have reduced annual CO2 emissions by approximately 1,800 tons, or the equivalent of annual emissions of 600 households. These changes were brought about when Toyota introduced its next-generation engine design. To realize both high fuel efficiency and high power output, engineers concentrated on improving the engine’s thermal efficiency. This required improvements in the cylinder head cooling functions. Specifically, this means that the water jacket, through which coolant passes, must pass extremely close to the combustion chamber and exhaust port, where temperatures are highest.
Toyota Research Institute Unveils Breakthrough in Teaching Robots New Behaviors
The Toyota Research Institute (TRI) announced a breakthrough generative AI approach based on Diffusion Policy to quickly and confidently teach robots new, dexterous skills. This advancement significantly improves robot utility and is a step towards building “Large Behavior Models (LBMs)” for robots, analogous to the Large Language Models (LLMs) that have recently revolutionized conversational AI.
TRI has already taught robots more than 60 difficult, dexterous skills using the new approach, including pouring liquids, using tools, and manipulating deformable objects. These achievements were realized without writing a single line of new code; the only change was supplying the robot with new data. Building on this success, TRI has set an ambitious target of teaching hundreds of new skills by the end of the year and 1,000 by the end of 2024.
🧠 Toyota and Generative AI: It’s Here, and This is How We’re Using It
Toyota’s initial goal in 2016 was to engineer a resilient cloud safety system, and that led to the development of Safety Connect, a service powered by Drivelink from software company Toyota Connected North America (TCNA). The Safety Connect service is designed to leverage key data points from the vehicle to identify when a collision has occurred and send an automatic notification to call center agents. Should the driver become unconscious, telematics information can provide a more complete picture of the situation, enabling agents to contact authorities faster when it’s needed most.
Vehicle maintenance has also been a focus of AI-driven enhancements. Connected vehicles have hundreds of sensors, and we have been using data from these vehicles to build machine learning models for the most common maintenance items, including batteries, brakes, tires, and oil, and are currently investigating dozens of other components, using daily streaming data from millions of connected and consented vehicles. This suite of predictive maintenance models will help make customers aware of potential maintenance needs prior to component failures, so they can enjoy more reliable mobility experiences.
Why Toyota Production System is Not Understood
🧠 Toyota Research Institute Unveils New Generative AI Technique for Vehicle Design
Toyota Research Institute (TRI) today unveiled a generative artificial intelligence (AI) technique to amplify vehicle designers. Currently, designers can leverage publicly available text-to-image generative AI tools as an early step in their creative process. With TRI’s new technique, designers can add initial design sketches and engineering constraints into this process, cutting down the iterations needed to reconcile design and engineering considerations.
TRI researchers released two papers describing how the technique incorporates precise engineering constraints into the design process. Constraints like drag (which affects fuel efficiency) and chassis dimensions like ride height and cabin dimensions (which affect handling, ergonomics, and safety) can now be implicitly incorporated into the generative AI process. The team tied principles from optimization theory, used extensively for computer-aided engineering, to text-to-image-based generative AI. The resulting algorithm allows the designer to optimize engineering constraints while maintaining their text-based stylistic prompts to the generative AI process.
Daimler Truck, Mitsubishi Fuso, Hino and Toyota Motor Corporation conclude an MoU on accelerating development of Advanced Technologies and merging Mitsubishi Fuso and Hino Motors
Daimler Truck Holding AG (“Daimler Truck”) Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (“MFTBC”), Hino Motors Ltd. (“Hino”) and Toyota Motor Corporation (“Toyota”) today concluded a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on accelerating the development of advanced technologies and merging MFTBC and Hino. Daimler Truck, MFTBC, Hino, and Toyota will collaborate toward achieving carbon neutrality and creating a prosperous mobility society by developing CASE technologies (Connected / Autonomous & Automated / Shared / Electric) and strengthening the commercial vehicle business on a global scale.
Joby and Toyota Expand Partnership with Long-Term Supply Agreement for Key Powertrain and Actuation Components
The agreement builds on the long-standing partnership between Joby and Toyota, which has seen the two companies collaborate on a wide variety of projects to support the production and assembly of the Joby aircraft, including advising on the design of Joby’s pilot production line in Marina, CA. Toyota is also Joby’s largest external shareholder, having invested around $400 million in the Company.
How Toyota Factory Works with Zortrax 3D Printers
Toyota factories in Poland use a Zortrax M300 Plus 3D printer to make manufacturing jigs on demand. According to Toyota, investment in the 3D printing technology in automotive can pay for itself within one year. The key advantage of the Zortrax 3D printing technology, according to Toyota engineers are its agility.
“We have been using 3D printers for years now. They were already here when I came to work at Toyota four years ago.”, says Kondek. According to him, jigs that are 3D printed in automotive industry today used to be made by a separate tooling division equipped with CNC machines and other subtractive manufacturing tools. Fabrication of more demanding designs were simply outsourced to external subcontractors.
“Obviously, using such tools severely limited what we could do design-wise. Every time we thought about a new jig, we had to think twice about whether it could be fabricated or not. 3D printing in automotive sector solve this problem.”, explains Kondek. He adds that currently over 95% of the 3D printed jigs made at Toyota factory are manufactured in the LPD technology. The rest is 3D printed in other 3D printing technologies.
Solvent-Free, Dry-Electrode Manufacturing for Batteries: Our Investment in AM Batteries
Electrode fabrication is the first stage in battery manufacturing, and the conventional process is lengthy and costly. It involves a “wet coating” that most commonly includes N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) as a solvent, followed by drying and compression. The drying process requires a large physical footprint — the equivalent size of a football field — and NMP is inherently toxic, so recovery is required. Both the drying and recovery processes require high operating temperatures and result in high energy consumption and operating costs, equivalent to approximately 32% of the total cost of battery manufacturing and 50% of the energy consumption.
AM Batteries’ process does not require energy-consuming evaporation or solvent-recovery. AM Batteries’ dry-electrode manufacturing technology uses an electrostatic spray deposition technique: active materials (cathode/anode) are electrostatically charged, deposited onto metal foil current collectors, and then processed to their final state. AM Batteries has found that this dry process results in 1) a 40% reduction in capital required for electrode equipment investment; 2) a 50% reduction in electricity usage of the plant; and 3) reduced cell cost. In addition, AM Batteries’ electrodes also offer the potential for fast-charging and higher-energy density batteries.
How to Maximize Your Production: Line Analysis
Toyota Indiana is the first TMNA manufacturing site to implement Invisible AI technology at scale with an initial deployment of 500 edge AI devices in 2022. The partnership supports Toyota’s core philosophy of continuous improvement for safety, quality, and operational efficiencies. Invisible AI technology helps Toyota better understand manual assembly operations, which accounts for a majority of the work performed in manufacturing.
Invisible AI’s technology uses edge AI devices with a built in NVIDIA Jetson module, 1TB of storage and a high-resolution 3D camera to track all floor activity – without using the cloud or any bandwidth. This self-contained AI device processes body motion data to identify potential for high-stress injuries and prevent simple defects in real-time, which generates millions in savings for customers. The software is entirely anonymized and privacy-centric by design and can be deployed in 60 seconds without any coding or engineering expertise, allowing customers to scale to thousands of cameras with ease. As an NVIDIA Inception and Metropolis partner, Invisible AI continues to push the boundaries of computer vision.
Invisible AI Partners with Toyota to Install Ground-breaking Computer Vision Platform Across North America
Invisible AI, a company building state-of-the-art AI solutions for manufacturing, today announced a partnership with Toyota Motor North America (TMNA), as the company integrates Invisible AI’s innovative computer vision platform across its 14 North American manufacturing operations.
Toyota Indiana is the first TMNA manufacturing site to implement Invisible AI technology at scale with an initial deployment of 500 edge AI devices in 2022. The partnership supports Toyota’s core philosophy of continuous improvement for safety, quality, and operational efficiencies. Invisible AI technology helps Toyota better understand manual assembly operations, which accounts for a majority of the work performed in manufacturing.
Tool and Die Software: Our Investment in Atomic Industries
Tool and die making has been one of those stubborn pieces that has yet to find its place in the factory of the future mosaic. This is largely because tool and die making is an outdated, time-consuming, and labor-intensive process that has eluded innovation. With a vision of making mass manufacturing as agile and distributed as software development, Atomic also wants to drive business model innovation by converting tooling from a capital expenditure to an operating expenditure. Focusing first on injection mold design, the team plans to expand into applied automation in fabrication and testing of manufacturing tools. Die casting, stamps, and metal injection molds are also on the roadmap.
Symbio Helps Automakers Rev Up Hybrid and Electric Vehicle Production With Smarter Assembly Line Robots
Automation from Symbio is designed to solve car manufacturing pain points. “Engineering teams at Toyota are leveraging Symbio’s technology, expertise and best practices of artificial intelligence (AI) to increase efficiency, improve quality and reduce ergonomic hazards,” said Symbio CEO and co-founder Max Reynolds. “Cars are changing. Manufacturing processes are changing. We’re proud to be working with Toyota to help them adapt for a competitive advantage.”
One application Toyota leverages is Symbio’s moving line technology where robotic assembly is done as vehicles are carried down an active production line in the plant. Symbio software is also used to perform tasks, such as wax application, without making stops.
Missing Chips Snarl Car Production at Factories Worldwide
Semiconductor shortages may persist throughout the first half as chipmakers adjust their operations, researcher IHS Market predicted on Dec. 23. Automakers will start to see component supply gradually ease in the next two to three months, China Passenger Car Association, which groups the country’s largest carmakers, said Monday.
Chipmakers favor consumer-electronics customers because their orders are larger than those of automakers – the annual smartphone market alone is more than 1 billion devices, compared with fewer than 100 million cars. Automaking is also a lower-margin business, leaving manufacturers unwilling to bid up chip prices as they avoid risking their profitability.