丰田和奥迪研发自动驾驶汽车

Toyota Motor Corp. and Audi AG are throwing their hats into the ring of potential suppliers of self-driving vehicles.

丰田汽车公司(Toyota Motor Corp.)和奥迪公司(Audi AG)宣布进军自动驾驶汽车领域，它们可能会成为自动驾驶汽车的供应商。

Both auto makers confirmed on Thursday that they will be demonstrating autonomous-driving features at the Consumer Electronics Show in the coming week, signaling a new effort to raise the technology's profile among consumers.

这两家汽车制造商周四均证实，将在下周举行的拉斯维加斯消费电子产品展上展示车辆的自动驾驶功能，这显示它们正在做出新的努力以提高自驾技术对消费者的影响力。

In a preview video posted to its website on Thursday, Toyota showed a five-second clip of one of its Lexus brand cars outfitted with various sensors and the caption, 'Lexus advanced active safety research vehicle is leading the industry into a new automated era.'

在周四于公司网站上发布的预览视频里，丰田展示了一辆配备了各种遥感器的雷克萨斯(Lexus)汽车。视频时长五秒钟，并配有字幕：雷克萨斯先进的主动安全型研究用样车正引领汽车行业进入一个新的自动化时代。

An Audi official also said the luxury-car company will be demonstrating autonomous vehicle capabilities at the Las Vegas show, including a feature that allows a car to find a parking space and park itself without a driver behind the wheel.

豪车生产企业奥迪的一位高管说，该公司将在这一展览会上展示车辆的无人驾驶功能，包括自动寻找停车位且无需驾驶员操作的自动泊车功能。

Toyota's prototype vehicle is a Lexus LS 600h fitted with radar and camera equipment that can detect other vehicles, road lane lines and traffic signals, giving the vehicle the ability to navigate streets without a driver. It also includes what appears to be the same roof-mounted laser that Google Inc. GOOG +0.06% has been using on its autonomous research cars. Google began testing self-driving cars in 2009.

丰田的这款原型车是雷克萨斯LS 600，该车配有可识别其它车辆、路线和交通信号灯的雷达和摄像设备，从而让该车可在无驾驶员的情况下在街上行驶。此外，这款车还配备了似乎与谷歌公司(Google Inc.)自主研发汽车相同的车顶激光器。谷歌从2009年开始测试自动驾驶汽车。

While Google uses many Toyota vehicles in its autonomous fleet, the two companies confirmed that Toyota's technology wasn't the result of a partnership, and that each firm is developing driving systems independently.

虽然谷歌在其自动驾驶车队中用到了很多丰田车，但两家公司均证实，丰田的自动驾驶技术不是二者合作的结晶。它们表示，两家公司目前正在独立研发驾驶系统。

The Japanese auto maker plans to discuss its autonomous car in more detail next week, according to a Toyota official.

日本汽车制造商丰田的一位高管表示，该公司打算在下周更详细地谈论其无人驾驶车。

Dave Sullivan, an analyst with research firm AutoPacific Inc., said Toyota's decision in particular to throw its name behind autonomous driving technology will likely spur adoption.

研究机构AutoPacific Inc.的分析师苏利文(Dave Sullivan)说，丰田要研发无人驾驶汽车技术的决定可能尤其会加快该技术的应用。

'To have somebody with the weight of Toyota throwing their weight behind this is impressive,' Mr. Sullivan said. He added that Toyota has already been spotted testing an autonomous vehicle near its Ann Arbor, Mich., engineering campus.

苏利文说，让丰田这样有影响力的公司来支持无人驾驶技术的研发，这会令人印象深刻。他还说，已有人在美国密歇根州安阿伯市(Ann Arbor)丰田工程园区附近发现丰田在测试一辆无人驾驶汽车。

Building-block technologies at the heart of self-driving vehicles already exists widely, but auto makers have been cautious in adding tools that could take the responsibility out of the hands of drivers. For instance, adaptive cruise control, available in dozens of vehicles on the market, can allow people to steer their vehicle and avoid touching the brake or accelerator on long trips. Daimler AG's DAI.XE -0.34% Mercedes-Benz is working on technology for its S-class sedan that will handle braking and accelerating in stop-and-go traffic.

自动驾驶汽车的核心──构件技术早已广泛存在，但汽车制造商对于给汽车添加有可能取代驾驶员角色的自动驾驶设备一直持谨慎态度。举例来说，市场上几十种车型上配备的自适应巡航控制系统可让人们开车进行长途旅行时，不用踩刹车或油门。戴姆勒公司(Daimler AG)旗下的梅赛德斯-奔驰(Mercedes-Benz)目前正为其S级轿车研发相关技术。该技术可在走走停停的路况下，处理刹车和加速问题。

There are safety technologies that will gently pull a car back into its lane if the car detects the driver is veering too much.

此外还有安全技术。如果司机被检测到偏离车道太多，该技术可将车辆温和地拉回车道。

Meanwhile, auto makers also have developed safety technology designed to protect pedestrians. Toyota's top Lexus LS, for example, has a radar that can detect people walking in front of a vehicle. If it sees a pedestrian, the safety system will stop the car, even if the driver continues stepping on the accelerator pedal. Other car makers also offer a similar technology.

与此同时，汽车制造商还研发了旨在保护行人的安全技术。例如，丰田豪车雷克萨斯LS就配备了雷达，可检测到在车辆前方行走的路人。如果看到行人，这套安全系统就会让车停下，哪怕司机的脚一直踩在油门上。别家汽车制造商也提供类似技术。