Nagoya—As I write this piece in my room in Marriott Hotel in Nagoya, I suffer from a bad case of colds, complete with the dry cough package. It couldn’t have come at a worse time, right in the middle of an important day at the tail end of my coverage of the Japan Mobility Show.
But it is what is, and when life gives me lemons, I better make lemonade. Good for my sniffles. And for my incessant, dry, raspy cough, our “mother hen” and Lexus Philippines AVP Jade Sison Mendoza went out of her way to send me cough medicine.
It’s one thing to be sick while in a foreign land. It’s another to be sick in body, and be homesick as well, while trying to focus on work, in a foreign land. My bedridden Mom’s birthday was yesterday, and I always made it a point to be there at her side on her natal day. Unfortunately, this time, I broke this streak, which makes me both sad and miserable.
But I know Mom would understand. Apart from the fact that this coverage in Tokyo would be my first overseas trip after six years working just at home, the once-in-a-lifetime chance to be right in the middle of the “rebirthing” of the Tokyo Motor Show into the Japan Mobility Show is too important to miss. Too much of our personal and mass mobility futures are at stake here, not to mention the implications of what transpires during and after this show on our society’s carbon footprint. And I know that if I passed up this chance, I’d blame myself no end.
But, you know what, life does find a way to offer a deeper meaning to your situation, even if you think things haven’t gone the way you wished it would. Just like what I experienced at the Tokyo Big Sight and at the Shimoyama Technical Center last Friday.
So here I was, taking in all the technological wonders at the main venue of the Japan Mobility Show, which was at the Tokyo Big Sight, and then lo and behold, I came across these hightech wheelchairs. At Shimoyama (which is also called the Toyota Technical Center Shimoyama), while our contingent of motoring media was on our way to test drive the full battery electric Toyota bZ4X SUV equipped with Neo Steer technology for physically challenged drivers, I also saw a similar wheelchair.
Upon seeing these wheelchairs, I immediately thought of my elderly parents, both 85 years old and bed- and wheelchair- bound. And upon driving the bZ4X SUV, two of my childhood buddies who had lower limb impairments came to mind.
They had told me once that they wished they could still drive despite their disabilities. I just feel that, with the wheelchair and the bZ4X with Neo Steer, they could have had a connection with the Japan Mobility Show, which emphasizes its aim for inclusive mobility and freedom of movement.
The electric wheelchair, by the way, is called the JUU, which was designed to offer freedom to travel anywhere unassisted. It has a refreshingly funky design, owing to its two large wheels. And when it says it can take one anywhere, it really means anywhere. It can go up and down staircases, its two large main wheels “stepping” up or down the steps, while the retractable tail flips down from behind the backrest to stabilize the machine and prevent it from tipping over. The JUU automatically maintains the optimal posture and can negotiate steps up to 16 cm tall. Its drive system employs motors used in cars. Toyota claims that using automotive components ensures high quality and reliability. Toyota said that it is also exploring advanced functions that would enable the JUU to autonomously move and load itself into the rear of a car after the user has boarded the vehicle and return to the driver’s seat when the user wants to alight.
At Shimoyama, we were also able to test drive the Lexus RZ 450e (with steer-by-wire technology). I was also able to ride shotgun in a hydrogen-powered Corolla Cross H2 concept driven by a Toyota engineer.
What caught my interest was, of course, the Neo Steer tech of the Bz4x BEV SUV. It felt a bit awkward to be behind the yoke style steering wheel at first. Since there were no foot pedals, the floor space was completely open. The brake control lever was behind the left hand side of the yoke, while the acceleration button was near my right thumb, kind of like how the brakes and throttle are positioned in a motorcycle handlebar. An engineer instructed me to push the stove-type switch to “D” while gripping the hand brake. After releasing the brake, I could now push the accelerator button with my right thumb. The response, particularly the steering and the brake, were hypersensitive, and required mere feather touches for the systems to work. The engineers told me that they were still fine-tuning the system.
All the placements of the controls, however, were spot on and intuitive. The Neo Steer technology—based on the steer-by-wire technology—was developed with the help of two consultants, one a paralympic athlete and the other a YouTuber who’s wheelchair-bound. From here, the Neo Steer tech opens up whole new possibilities for autonomous driving or driver switching, according to Toyota.
Steer-by-wire tech
The Lexus 450e equipped with the new steer-by-wire technology was designed to heighten the engagement between the driver and the vehicle. Again, the steering wheel was yoke-type. The engineers explained that one of the unique characteristics of steer-by-wire is there is no direct mechanical shaft connecting the steering yoke to the tires and wheels, only an electrical connection. As a result, steer-by-wire adds to the comfort, stability, and fun factor in driving. More importantly, steer-by-wire opens up whole new possibilities for future types of mobility such as autonomous driving. A wealth of interior design possibilities also opens up, as well.
Finally, I was able to ride inside the prototype Corolla Cross Hydrogen concept, a key character in Toyota’s multipath approach to zero emissions.
Under the hood is a normal ICE, the same as that found in the GR Yaris and GR Corolla (a turbocharged 1.6-liter engine), but with high-pressure hydrogen direct injection engine technology derived from the automaker’s motorsport experience. Then, there’s the hydrogen tank package courtesy of Mirai. The vehicle I rode in was installed with two hydrogen tanks under the floor. It really just feels like riding in a normal turbocharged car, engine roaring and all. The only thing that gives away the new-energy vibe is the energy monitor on the dashboard.
