The two cushions on the hood are supposed to protect the pedestrian's head and waist. There's no saying if and when Toyota will implement them in their vehicles. The system also includes an inbuilt radar and camera for pedestrian detecting, but my personal opinion is that too much "helping-hand" tech turns drivers into lobotomized eejits. If you don't use it, you'll lose it. [FarEastGizmos via Technabob]

Energy It Takes To Build Prius
113,000 BTUs

113,000 BTUs In Gasoline
1,000 gallons

Distance Driven to Break Even For Build Cost
46,000 miles

Time Needed For Average Driver to Hit 46,000 Miles
Over 3 Years

Distance Driven to Break Even with 1998 Toyota Tercel*
100,000 miles

Time Needed For Average Driver to Hit 100,000 Miles
Over 7 Years

* or any car that gets 27 mpg city / 35 mpg highway
** distance/year ratios built on 13,500-mile yearly average [Wired]

It's pretty hard to worry about the future rise of the robot empire when they're acting quite this cute isn't it? That said, it's not hard to spot where the scientific value of these robots lies: all that dexterity in manipulating the instruments may one day end up in consumer robot products. [Robot watch via New Launches]

The kit isn't cheap—it's $9995 with three-year warranty and installation—but it is slightly cheaper than the 2006 $10-$12k price of the EDrive (we haven't been able to find a more current price). Most of us probably wouldn't pay an extra $10k on top of the $20k or so you paid for a Prius in the first place, so you might want to sit tight for factory Plugin EVs in the next few years unless you really, really need to smell your own farts now. [Hymotion]

The car systems, which will are now going into development, will be able to determine whether or not the driver was doing anything dangerous or erratic, and control for that or even act to prevent that kind of behavior.

There might be a system that uses both climate control and navigation to make sure the drivers stay alert, for instance. The system might automatically slows the car down if it senses an irrational punch of the gas pedal. There's no mention of the opposite, however. You know, the system that speeds the hell up when it determines that you've just merged onto a 75mph freeway and you're only doing 34. [SMH]

The movement on the dome is incredible thanks to its tilting and vibration devices: slam on the brakes and the dome moves forward; slew the steering wheel to the left and the dome lurches sideways. There's a range of 115 feet for forward and backward movement, and 65 feet if the dome is moving sideways.

Computer graphics are projected onto the walls of the dome giving you the real-deal view if the car were driving along a road in Japan. You even get to hear proper sound effects if you pop a handbrake turn at 100 mph. Don't try and total the car in an attempt to experience what happens if you crash at high speed, though — when one of the reporters allowed a test-drive mowed down a pedestrian, the screen merely went blank. [Japan Today and Tech.co.uk and International Herald Tribune]

It's easy to say that this is not the market, but ultimately, these are the people who have to be sold before the tech becomes as desirable and mainstream as it is cutting-edge. One day, Toyota will bring us the Supra Hybrid, and not one of those numb-feeling sedans with electrics. I just want a diesel electric with gobs of power, 100mpg, and the lines of an Italian sports car. Is that so much to ask? [TopGear]

The $15,000 conversion packs in batteries twice as powerful as the stock ones, as well as the plug-in mechanism, allowing the car to roll along at 100 mpg. The 2009 prototype is using a similar setup while Toyota works out the kinks with Li-ion batteries, and the garage doing the conversion has been performing the voodoo for several years, so potential green road warriors needn't worry about horrible, battery-related deaths due to wishy-washy engineering. [SF Gate]

Jibing with a Boston Globe report that Toyota's having problems getting the Li-ion batteries ready, the car might launch as regular hybrid at first, making the jump to plug-in action after the Li-ion tech is good to go. The other possibility is that'll be a plug-in from the start, but with the NiMh pack initially before moving to Li-ion when it's ready. Still, the new, more aggressive EV mode which allows acceleration up to 50mph before jumping to gas is reason enough to want one. [Popular Mechanics]

Update: Apparently this is a Toyota UK thing. Sorry for the confusion!

This time Sony doesn't want to be left behind on the display front, and they are going to ship a real ultra-thin 11-inch OLED television in 2007. Not another prototype: a real TV. A small one that will cost a few times more than a comparable LCD, but a telly nonetheless.

They won't say how much but what it really matters is how many: Sony and partner Toyota Industries will only make 1,000 units every month, so don't count on seeing them at Best Buy. If Samsung or Matsushita don't give us another surprise, however, Sony will be the first to market an OLED TV of this size.

Given the state of OLED, the news is surprising but not really: after years of Trinitron domination, Sony completely lost the flat-screen bandwagon until they jumped back in with Bravia, all thanks to Samsung's LCD technology and their joint venture. This time they are joining forces with Toyota, and while Sony Executive Deputy President Katsumi Ihara said that "it won't be easy for OLED TVs to replace LCD TVs," the move demonstrates that they want to get there before anyone else, just in case. I am all for it Ihara-san, but please: no built-in Blu-ray drives this time. And if it doesn't work, we will always have FED. And Paris. –Jesus Diaz

Sony says to sell ultra-thin OLED TVs this year [Reuters UK]

On the right as Honda's creatively named Small Hybrid Sports Concept. It has front wheel drive and was designed by Honda's European research and development center. There was little other information about this little pocket rocket, but you can see more of it in this gallery. More about these hybrids versus electrics, after the jump:

Both of these concepts stick with the combination of internal combustion engine and electric motor, but we were hoping for plug-in models, or completely electric cars such as the Tesla Roadster.

Even though hybrids seem like a great idea, they're still guzzling fossil fuels from countries that hate America, and then, well, those batteries might cause more problems than they solve when it's time to dispose of them. So we're thinking maybe the solution is for all of us to work at home instead of driving so much. Or ride bicycles. – Charlie White

Honda Small Hybrid Sports Concept and Toyota Hybrid X Concept [Jalopnik]

But that's not all. You'll recall that we showed you a sporty 400hp hybrid Toyota also has in the works, named the FT-HS, revealed last month at the Detroit Auto Show. Can't wait to see these on the road, both of which promise to be two of the most gadget-y cars yet. – Charlie White

Toyota Unveiling New Hybrid Concept in Geneva [Jalopnik]

Even though we like the Toyota Prius, it is kind of dorky looking. Maybe elements of this design could be incorporated into the next Prius. This is something we could live with. Check out six more wicked pics:

Check out the way the hard top folds into the trunk in pics three and four.

Even if this hybrid concept doesn't show up on showroom floors any time soon, it might just be foreshadowing of what we might see with a possible Toyota Supra in the works.

This is a great trend in hybrids: electric motor as supercharger. – Charlie White

2007 Detroit Auto Show: Toyota Unwraps The FT-HS Hybrid Sports Car Concept For Christmas [Jalopnik via Edmunds Inside Line]

Yep, it's like that little pedal-powered fire truck you had when you were a kid. It's super light, made of aluminum, bamboo and something called "bioplastic," known to you and me as garbage. Why was this designed, anyway?

Toyota didn't say if or when it plans to build such a vehicle; the company was just playing a game called the Design Challenge, dreamed up by the greater Los Angeles Auto Show, urging nine carmakers to imagine "a time when all vehicles have technology allowing the public to enjoy the distinctive Southern California lifestyle and unique environment without harming it."

The goofiest vehicle in the competition was the Green Hummer, pictured above, that somehow uses panels made out of slime, I mean, algae, to pay back for all of that polluting carbon dioxide it spews. The algae is supposed to photosynthesize oxygen out of the Hummer's plentiful supply of carbon dioxide emissions.

We'll find out who wins this competition on Thursday (November 30). – Charlie White

Toyota Unveil Hybrid Pedal-Electric Concept 'Car' ]treehugger]

Some people have talked about its homoerotic overtones - I sense more of a zombie influence myself. They should add a scene with two people making out in the back with all the devices looking on. – Mark Wilson

[digg]

The effort follows a rash of media coverage in the land of the rising sun following a number of high-profile drunk-driving incidents, including one where an inebriated motorist knocked a car off a bridge, killing three children.

– Jason Chen

Japanese automakers developing cars that refuse drunk drivers [Mainichi via Hold the Sake! Japanese Automakers Working On Booze Lockouts]

Giant 'leap' for robotics [AFP/Mumbai Mirror via CrunchGear]

Next weird thing is the tip itself: Toyota, known for having the gadgety-est cars around, is developing a cell phone with Japan's #2 wireless carrier, KDDI Corp (in which Big T owns an 11 percent stake). Mike is all wordsmithy, so I'll let him tell you about the phone his own sentences.

It's not just any throwaway burner, mind you; the handsets — dubbed "TiMO" — which are based on an existing KDDI phone made by Toshiba, will tie in via Bluetooth to navigation and other systems already installed in the company's cars. The service will include downloads of music, games and various manner of digital media, as well as an emergency telematics dealie that may or may not involve a team of unicorns that cascade down a sparkly rainbow to provide 24-hour road service. The phones will go on sale this October in Japan at the company's automotive outlets.

Unicorns! I read it on the internet, so it must be true. Maybe they'll put the RFID engine starting signal inside the phone for the sheer convenience of being able lose both your cellie and your car keys at once.

The third weird thing is that I have a nest of Yellow Jackets burrowing into my kitchen wall. I hear them scratching at the wood, hungry for my eye-flesh. You can't make this shit up.– Brian Lam

Toyota to Make Cellphones [Jalopnik]

Just think, this car could drive from New York to L.A. on a gallon of gas. Plus, it looks damn cool. I guess Canadians aren't that bad after all. – Charlie White

Stick Your Fossil Fuel, Eh? Canadian Students Build 3,145-mpg Car [Jalopnik]

Could this next Prius be the same one we mentioned earlier that would be turbocharged and get 100 miles per gallon? Either way, we just went out and checked our garage, and there happens to be an electrical outlet right where we would park our new Prius. – Charlie White

Get the Extension Cord: Toyota to Consider Plug-in Hybrids [Jalopnik]

We're also hearing Toyota is thinking of giving you the option of plugging in the new Prius in addition to its hybrid capabilities, letting you top off the batteries while it's parked, further increasing its efficiency. So, let's get this straight: not only will this hybrid car go faster than the current version, it'll get better gas mileage and have lower emissions? Sounds like the best of all worlds to us, and then there are those great techie toys inside, too. No word on when this next-gen hybrid will be shipping. – Charlie White

Artificial Aspiration: Could Next Prius Have a Turbo? [Jalopnik]

Mac Prius [Kusnetz via Treehugger]

New Toyota Celica Coming in 2008, Hybrid Too [Jalopnik]

More Prius Fun! The Secret BEEP Code Revealed & Advanced Diagnostic Readouts [Treehugger]

Toyota is going over the top with its 2007 FJ Cruiser SUV, which will be using NXT SurfaceSound flat panel speaker technology in its roof liner speaker system. Announced by NXT at CES, the SUV is powered by a 4.0L V6 24-valve engine and comes with a choice of six-speed manual or five-speed automatic transmission. The NXT system is built into the roofliner, but also complements the vehicle's conventional speakers, hopefully giving you a broad, omni-directional dispersion of sound. The system comes with an AM/FM/CD system with six speakers fitted as standard (including NXT-based roof liner) or other options that include an eight-speaker system with six-disc CD changer, and a nine-speaker system complete with subwoofer.

Toyota FJ Cruiser - world's first mass production vehicle with NXT technology [NXTsound]

The top-of-the-line model comes with nine speakers, an audio system with surround DSP technology, and obviously, an input terminal to let you connect to a portable music player. And that's not all, folks—you'll also get 11 flashing lights that play along with your tunes, which seems to me rather ridiculously dangerous—and some weird seating arrangement called "Mattari-mode front seats" that slide down and sink about three inches. Again, I have to call out the whole dangerous thing. In terms of car stuff, it comes with either a 1.5- or 1.3-liter in-line four-cylinder engine with variable valve timing-intelligent mechanism and an electronic control four-speed automatic transmission. Front-wheel and four-wheel drives are also available. Goes from about $11,400 to $15,700.

Toyota Launches Fully Redesigned Passenger Car Designed to Be a "Car-shaped Music Player" [Tech-on]

Toyota Fuel Cell Hybrid and new Personal Mobility Concepts [Gizmag]

Toyota to Offer [I4U]