Toyota e-Palette to shuttle athletes for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics

MANILA: As the mobility partner of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, Toyota announced that it will deploy 20 of its specially-designed “Tokyo 2020 Version” e-Palette electric vehicles to shuttle athletes.

The “Tokyo 2020 Version” of the e-Palette was specifically designed to meet the needs of athletes for the Olympic and Paralympic Games. According to Takahiro Muta, development leader for e-Palette, "Throughout the development process, athletes, especially Paralympians, helped us to better understand how we could adapt and upgrade the e-Palette to better meet the need for simple,

convenient and comfortable mobility. We are proud to work with them on a vehicle that will not just move athletes physically throughout the Olympic and Paralympic villages, but will also offer them new opportunities to interact with others, share new experiences, and be moved emotionally."

The Tokyo 2020 Version will feature large doors and electric ramps to make it quick and easy for Paralympians and large groups of athletes to board and alight. The vehicles will also be capable of transporting up to four passengers in wheelchairs at the same time. Moreover, the interiors were designed to help colorblind individuals. A smaller version of the e-Palette will be deployed at throwing events to help in transporting shot puts and javelins.

As an SAE Level 4-capable autonomous vehicle, the Tokyo 2020 Version of e-Palette will be controlled by an automated driving system capable of navigating a pre-assigned loop from the Olympic Village to the various event places on its own with a speed of up to 20 kilometers per hour. However, an on-board safety operator will be present during trips as an added precaution.

The e-Palette was first introduced by Toyota last year as a shared autonomous mobility service (Autono-MaaS). It’s a reflection of the shift of the company towards becoming a mobility company that makes use of electrification, connected networks, and advanced driving technologies in support of innovative models for shared mobility.

Toyota adds that the data gathered from operating e-Palette at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games will be used to continue developing the vehicle to support future Mobility-as-a-Service applications.

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