Toyota Motor Corp. has unveiled an upgraded version of its human-shaped T-HR3 robot. The robot, which is controlled remotely by a person wearing a headset and wiring on his or her arms and hands, now has faster and smoother finger movements because the controlling device is lighter and easier to use. Such a robot could, in the future, be used to perform surgery in a distant place where a doctor cannot travel. It also might allow people to feel like they're participating in events they can't actually attend. In a recent demonstration in Tokyo, a person wearing a headset and wiring made the robot move in exactly the same way he was moving, waving or making dance-like movements.

Way back in 2013, Toyota showed off its self-driving testbed for autonomous vehicle features like safety braking and automatic lane control. Now, the company is pulling the dust sheets off the second-generation of the ride, which is designed to do a whole lot more. The Toyota Research Institute 2.0 Advanced Safety Research is the first that the company can say was built entirely in-house. The technology has been built on top of a current-generation Lexus LS600hL, kitted out with layered and overlapping LIDAR, Radar and camera sensors. This, paired with machine vision and machine learning, should reduce the car's dependency on high-definition maps that may not yet exist.

The vehicle is Toyota's Concept-I car, and it claims to represent a friendlier, people-focused approach to future mobility. While the car is only a concept and is not on sale, it gives a glimpse into the firm's vision for the future of automobiles. The vehicle is Toyota's Concept-i car, that represents a friendlier, people-focused appraoch to future mobility The Concept-I was unveiled at the CES technology show in Las Vegas, and was produced by the firm's CALTY design centre in California. The basic philosophy for the design is'kinetic warmth' - the belief that mobility technology should be warm, welcoming and fun. Bob Carter, Senior Vice President of Automotive Operations at Toyota, said: 'At Toyota we recognise that the important question isn't whether future vehicles will be equipped with automated or connected technologies, it is the experience of the people who engage with those vehicles. 'Thanks to Concept-i and the power of artificial intelligence, we think the future is a vehicle that can engage with people in return.'