Nintendo and Toyota to Develop Car for Elderly

Hopefully, cars that drive themselves will be available by the time I'm deemed too old to drive, but until then, we can look forward to senior-friendly cars that will assist the elderly when behind the wheel. Toyota teamed up with Prof. Ryuta Kawashima, creator of Nintendo's Brain Age games, to develop a special car for aging drivers.

This smart car, according to Kawashima, will be able to monitor brain and emotional activity to determine driving patterns, then adjust its settings to help drivers avoid dangerous situations. For example, if the car senses that the gas pedal is being hit too many times for no reason, it will automatically start slowing down. Kawashima hopes these adjustments will stimulate brain activity and turn driving itself into a form of brain training.

A navigation system and temperature controls that self-adjust to keep drivers awake are some of the features likely to be added. Prof. Kawashima says Toyota and Tohoku University are ready to start making the car, although they're not ready to share specific details of the technologies. If we're lucky, we'll see this car on the road in the next five years.

Toyota to develop cars for seniors (Associated Press)