Toyota to Test Self-Driving Cars at GoMentum’s California Proving Grounds

Toyota Motor Corp. has signed an agreement to test semi- and fully autonomous vehicle systems at GoMentum’s 5,000-acre proving grounds in Concord, Calif.

The close-course facility, which is operated by the Contra Costa Transportation Authority, allows Toyota to test autonomous vehicle systems under extreme driving conditions that it can’t safely replicate on public roads. The complex includes varied terrain and several types of roads as well as bridges, tunnels, intersections and parking lots.

In January the U.S. Dept. of Transportation selected GoMentum as one of 10 proving grounds nationwide to validate self-driving car technology. Several other carmakers and suppliers also are using the former naval base for testing autonomous vehicles.

Toyota’s tests will be conducted by the carmaker’s Toyota Research Institute (TRI) subsidiary, using an updated sensor platform. This includes Luminar Technologies’ latest lidar, which the supplier says has a longer sensing range and improved field of view to enhance object detection.

Launched two years ago, TRI aims to accelerate Toyota’s research into artificial intelligence and robotics. In conjunction with its 2.1 autonomous vehicle test platform, TRI says it has made recent advancements in so-called deep learning artificial intelligence required for fully autonomous vehicles.

The wholly owned subsidiary has research centers in Los Altos, Calif., and Cambridge, Mass., near partners Stanford University and the Massachusetts institute of Technology, respectively.