Technology Opportunities That Go Beyond Automotive

Many of the technologies that are developed at Toyota with an intended business use within the automotive industry have applicability and business value to many unrelated fields. Sample offered portfolios for both fundamental and facilitating technologies range from actuator and integrated sensors to new pigments for near-IR hidden data to metamaterials. The evolution of electronics must be mirrored by both advancement of actuators and their feedback-loop sensor systems to meet customer expectations in new product development. Engineering advances in the use of shape memory alloy (SMA) wire allows for light weight/sustainable integration of high-force translational output in small packaging environments. This is complemented with a variety of cost-effective solutions for feedback control of the SMA wire actuator, ranging from pendant sensor components to circuits for monitoring the state of the SMA wire. Uniquely, these SMA actuators offer translational motion, unlike conventional electric motors that create rotational movement. With the expansion of autonomous systems, use of sensors that operate in the near-IR (e.g. LiDAR and infrared cameras) have grown as well. The ability to allow autonomous systems to communicate and not clutter the customer space enhances the experience around products. LiDAR Black paints and plastics are based on a proprietary pigment that appears black to normal human vision, but uniquely reflects in the near-IR. When color matched with carbon black pigments, data and information can be communicated between electronic systems without imposing on the customers field of vision. More fundamentally, mechanical vibrations can undermine the integrity of most any system. From acoustic noise to structural trembling, our meta-barrier technology is a passive edge treatment for the ridged panels that house electronic systems and performs as a broad frequency range dampener. Because it is an edge treatment on the ridged mounting boards or housings, it is scalable without the outsized commitment to weight commonly suffered from dampening mats or backing materials. These sample technologies, and more, are now being offered to companies interested in entering business partnerships.