First-Ever Lexus Jet Stars in Sony Pictures’ Men in Black: International

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First-Ever Lexus Jet Stars in Sony Pictures’ Men in Black: International
First-Ever Lexus Jet Stars in Sony Pictures’ Men in Black: International

With today’s red carpet premiere of Sony Pictures’ highly-anticipated Men in Black: International comes the world debut of the Lexus QZ 618 Galactic Enforcer jet — the first in the brand’s new jet-class fleet. Currently available only to MIB agents, it is powered by hybrid transformer technology. With the push of a button it morphs from a 2020 Lexus RC F sport coupe into the most powerful IFO (Identified Flying Object) ever engineered by Lexus. It is also the only Lexus available in the darkest black in the entire universe: Umbra Black.

“The Lexus jet reflects the future of the Lexus brand – the far, far distant future,” said Lisa Materazzo, vice president of Lexus marketing. “With the most advanced alien-fighting technology, performance and sophisticated styling, it’s in a class of its own.”

In a top-secret exchange of knowledge with an alien partner, brokered by “the agency,” Lexus was able to secure Quasar Power Source2 Technology (QPST) that uses the power of the nearest Active Galactic Nucleus3 (AGN) to travel anywhere in the universe in seconds. Quasi-Stellar Objects4 (QSOs) are found in every galaxy that has a supermassive central black hole. So, all QPST-powered Lexus vehicles are named after black holes.5

Key jet features include:
Technology

  • IGPS (Inter-Galactic Positioning System)
  • Amazon Alexa* understands all seven trillion alien languages
  • Gamma ray headlamps
  • Infinite scaling technology 

Performance

  • Lexus’ very latest Quasar Power Source Technology (QPST)
  • Propulsion system named after Black Hole TON 618
  • 122 MPG (Millennia Per Gallon)
  • Three driving modes: EcoDrive, SportDrive, QuantumDrive
  • 0-60 in 0.0000000000001 nanoseconds
  • Light-speed-matching capability

Comfort & Design

  • Intergalactically sourced, ethically spawned Adorian leather 

Safety

  • Lexus’ latest transforming seats with a 31-point harnesses to accommodate every body type in the universe
  • Lexus Safety System+ (LSS+) with available force field technology 

Styles & Packages

  • Enforcer Package
  • Everything you need to protect the earth from the scum of the universe
  • Also available in six other colors, but naturally, Lexus recommends UmbraBlack

Lexus vehicles are the official fleet of Men in Black agents globally in the film. The 2020 Lexus RC F stars as the Men in Black agents’ vehicle of choice for their high velocity pursuits. The luxury sport coupe recently underwent an exciting change, making it faster, lighter and even more ready to transport the Men in Black as they save the universe.

“The Lexus RC F sports coupe and QZ 618 Galactic Enforcer jet provide the perfect vehicles for our team of Men in Black agents as they protect the galaxy,” said Jeffrey Godsick, EVP, Brand Management and Global Partnerships, Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group.

Courtesy: https://pressroom.toyota.com

Toyotathon Makes TV History With First :100 Second Commercial

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Toyotathon Makes TV History With First :100 Second Commercial

Toyotathon Makes TV History With First :100 Second Commercial

Toyotathon is back for its 38th year with a 100-second holiday commercial, a first in the broadcast industry, that showcases a family’s multigenerational story. “R+S” premiered Tuesday night, November 28, on NBC during “The Voice” in an isolated pod, with no other advertising or promotional spots surrounding it. This 100-second spot comes at a time when most networks are reducing commercial time.

“The Winter holiday season seems to get longer every year with retail advertising starting earlier than the year before. Of course we have retail ads just like our competitors, but we believe it’s also important to remind customers of the true meaning of the holiday season.” noted Ed Laukes, group vice president, Toyota Marketing, Toyota Motor North America. “Through proprietary research, we identified a way to break through the clutter with an emotional message and resonate with consumers. In addition, the :100-second spot was shot in a style similar to This is Us, and because the ad has context, we believe the relevance will increase the impact of the spot given it will air in an isolated pod between The Voice and This is Us.”

“The natural connection with Toyota’s new creative and such a powerful night of family viewing illustrates the power of contextual messaging which still reigns king,” said Linda Yaccarino, Chairman, Advertising Sales and Client Partnerships, NBC Universal. “Engaging, emotional creative combined with the unparalleled environment of television is the ultimate platform for a marketer to reach audiences at scale and enhance the consumer experience.”

“R+S” unfolds like a film as it tells a family’s multigenerational story using a much loved family tree as the centerpiece. The narrative starts with the grandparents as a young couple and the tree bears their initials, “R+S.” The story continues decades later after the tree has fallen from natural causes. During the holiday season the grandparents visit their daughter’s home to find a framed picture of themselves as a young couple in front of their special tree. As the rest of the family hides in anticipation, they see the inscription of their initials “R+S” on the table and quickly realize its their beloved tree.

The spot features a real family of actors including grandparents, their daughter and her husband and children. The director, award-winning cinematographer, Lance Acord, filmed in central California and cast a family from the same area. “The story comes to life because it represents real families. The central point of the narrative, the tree, is also a metaphor for life and the underlying theme of a matriarch passing on the torch from one generation to the next,” said director Lance Acord.

Acord directed the spot in a way that makes the viewer re-experience the holidays from another family’s lens and carries that emotion with them to their own family festivities. Fostering the true meaning of the holidays, togetherness, Toyota tugs at the viewer’s heartstrings by focusing on the family’s story to create a relatable, emotional experience during the hectic holiday season.

“R+S” premiered on NBC with the special 100-second airing before moving to top theaters nationwide for in-cinema play in National CineMedia (NCM)’s Noovie pre-show on over 20,600 movie screens from December 1-28. A mix of :30 and :60 versions of “R+S” will air on television December 10-24. The Toyotathon December Sales Event offers incentives through January 2. View the “R+S” :100-second spot here.

courtesy: pressroom.toyota.com

Toyota to Build the World’s First Megawatt-scale 100% Renewable Power and Hydrogen Generation Station

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Toyota to Build the World's First Megawatt-scale 100% Renewable Power and Hydrogen Generation Station

Toyota to Build the World's First Megawatt-scale 100% Renewable Power and Hydrogen Generation Station

Toyota Motor North America, Inc. (TMNA) will build the world’s first megawatt-scale carbonate fuel cell power generation plant with a hydrogen fueling station to support its operations at the Port of Long Beach. Announced today at the Los Angeles Auto Show, the Tri-Gen facility will use bio-waste sourced from California agricultural waste to generate water, electricity and hydrogen.

When it comes online in 2020, Tri-Gen will generate approximately 2.35 megawatts of electricity and 1.2 tons of hydrogen per day, enough to power the equivalent of about 2,350 average-sized homes and meet the daily driving needs of nearly 1,500 vehicles. The power generation facility will be 100% renewable, supplying Toyota Logistics Services’ (TLS) operations at the Port and making them the first Toyota facility in North America to use 100% renewable power.

“For more than twenty years, Toyota has been leading the development of fuel cell technology because we understand the tremendous potential to reduce emissions and improve society,” said Doug Murtha, group vice president- Strategic Planning. “Tri-Gen is a major step forward for sustainable mobility and a key accomplishment of our 2050 Environmental Challenge to achieve net zero CO2 emissions from our operations.”

Tri-Gen is a key step forward in Toyota’s work to develop a hydrogen society. In addition to serving as a key proof-of-concept for 100% renewable, local hydrogen generation at scale, the facility will supply all Toyota fuel cell vehicles moving through the Port, including new deliveries of the Mirai sedan and Toyota’s Heavy Duty hydrogen fuel cell class 8 truck, known as Project Portal. To support these refueling operations, Toyota has also built one of the largest hydrogen fueling stations in the world on-site with the help of Air Liquide.

Tri-Gen has been developed by FuelCell Energy with the support of the US Department of Energy, California agencies including the California Air Resources Board, South Coast Air Quality Management District, Orange County Sanitation District, and the University of California at Irvine, whose research helped develop the core technology. The facility exceeds California’s strict air quality standards and advances the overall goals of the California Air Resources Board, the California Energy Commission, and the Air Quality Management Districts of the South Coast and the Bay Area, who have been leaders in the work to reduce emissions and improve air quality.

Going forward, Toyota remains committed to supporting the development of a consumer- facing hydrogen infrastructure to realize the potential of fuel cell vehicles. Thirty-one retail hydrogen stations are now open for business in California, and Toyota continues to partner with a broad range of companies to develop new stations. That includes a partnership with Shell that represents the first such collaboration between a major automotive and major oil company.

courtesy: pressroom.toyota.com

 

Toyota Unveils Third Generation Humanoid Robot T-HR3

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Toyota Unveils Third Generation Humanoid Robot T-HR3

Toyota Unveils Third Generation Humanoid Robot T-HR3

Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) today revealed T-HR3, the company’s third generation humanoid robot. Toyota’s latest robotics platform, designed and developed by Toyota’s Partner Robot Division, will explore new technologies for safely managing physical interactions between robots and their surroundings, as well as a new remote maneuvering system that mirrors user movements to the robot.

T-HR3 reflects Toyota’s broad-based exploration of how advanced technologies can help to meet people’s unique mobility needs. T-HR3 represents an evolution from previous generation instrument-playing humanoid robots, which were created to test the precise positioning of joints and pre-programmed movements, to a platform with capabilities that can safely assist humans in a variety of settings, such as the home, medical facilities, construction sites, disaster-stricken areas and even outer space.

“The Partner Robot team members are committed to using the technology in T-HR3 to develop friendly and helpful robots that coexist with humans and assist them in their daily lives. Looking ahead, the core technologies developed for this platform will help inform and advance future development of robots to provide ever-better mobility for all,” said Akifumi Tamaoki, general manager, Partner Robot Division.

T-HR3 is controlled from a Master Maneuvering System that allows the entire body of the robot to be operated instinctively with wearable controls that map hand, arm and foot movements to the robot, and a head-mounted display that allows the user to see from the robot’s perspective. The system’s master arms give the operator full range of motion of the robot’s corresponding joints and the master foot allows the operator to walk in place in the chair to move the robot forward or laterally. The Self-interference Prevention Technology embedded in T-HR3 operates automatically to ensure the robot and user do not disrupt each other’s movements.

Onboard T-HR3 and the Master Maneuvering System, motors, reduction gears and torque sensors (collectively called Torque Servo Modules) are connected to each joint. These modules communicate the operator’s movements directly to T-HR3’s 29 body parts and the Master Maneuvering System’s 16 master control systems for a smooth, synchronized user experience. The Torque Servo Module has been developed in collaboration with Tamagawa Seiki Co., Ltd. and NIDEC COPAL ELECTRONICS CORP. This technology advances Toyota’s research into safe robotics by measuring the force exerted by and on T-HR3 as it interacts with its environment and then conveying that information to the operator using force feedback.

The Torque Servo Module enables T-HR3’s core capabilities: Flexible Joint Control, to control the force of contact the robot makes with any individuals or objects in its surrounding environment; Whole-body Coordination and Balance Control, to maintain the robot’s balance if it collides with objects in its environment; and Real Remote Maneuvering, to give users seamless and intuitive control over the robot. These functions have broad implications for future robotics research and development, especially for robots that operate in environments where they must safely and precisely interact with their surroundings.

Since the 1980s, Toyota has been developing industrial robots to enhance its manufacturing processes. Partner Robot has utilized the insights from that experience and built on Toyota’s expertise in automotive technologies to develop new mobility solutions that support doctors, caregivers and patients, the elderly, and people with disabilities.

T-HR3 will be featured at the upcoming International Robot Exhibition 2017 at Tokyo Big Sight from November 29 through December 2.

courtesy: pressroom.toyota.com

Challenge accepted: Toyota production engineers turn status quo on head

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Challenge accepted: Toyota production engineers turn status quo on head

Challenge accepted: Toyota production engineers turn status quo on head

It’s a big task, but Toyota Motor North America has the best and brightest accepting the challenge: innovate and problem solve to create the next generation of manufacturing technology. Today’s newly opened $80 million, 235,000 square foot state-of-the-art and environmentally-conscious Production Engineering and Manufacturing Center (PEMC) in Georgetown, Kentucky, is the final building constructed under the “One Toyota” project, and is both a statement on Toyota’s commitment to investing in the future of American manufacturing and a home base for a key group of more than 600 Toyota engineers.

“Our production engineers are at the top of their game and help shape the future of Toyota,” said Jim Lentz, chief executive officer of Toyota Motor North America. “They push the limits every day on what’s possible in manufacturing to produce ever-better vehicles. And their hard work and commitment to quality shows in the products we build in our 14 plants across North America.”

A production engineer’s work begins after a vehicle concept is dreamed up, but before the product is manufactured. This key group of engineers finds the best way to make the vehicle, designing processes and layouts that make Toyota plants come to life. Supporting all aspects of production, including stamping, body, paint, plastics, assembly, powertrain, environmental, and safety, they interact with team members in vehicle design and product planning, as well as on the production floor to support everyday operations, model changes, Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA) implementation, new construction and future innovations and technology.

The PEMC in Kentucky has capacity to house 800 team members. In addition to production engineering, supporting teams located at PEMC include indirect purchasing, information systems, strategic business management, human resources and talent development.

Announced three years ago as part of the “One Toyota” initiative to create more unified operations in North America – which also included the new North American headquarters for Toyota in Plano, Texas, and a new research and development facility in Ann Arbor, Mich., – the PEMC includes leading-edge spaces that feature natural lighting, encourage discovery and foster teamwork that will result in increased collaboration and faster decision making.

As the manufacturing nucleus for Toyota’s North American plants, PEMC has a new TILT Lab to focus primarily on problem solving and innovation. With a name inspired by the goal of the space, the TILT Lab provides everything Toyota engineers need to shift conventional thinking on its axis, and take an idea from concept to prototype. Once tested, those advancements may be applied to the company’s plants to improve processes or solve a challenge.

Environmental stewards
Toyota’s commitment to the environment is evident through several sustainability programs across the PEMC and adjoining property. These include solar panels, skylights, a rainwater harvesting system, and a geothermal HVAC system.

“Toyota’s new environmentally-conscious, state-of-the-art PEMC building showcases their continued commitment to the commonwealth. They are a proven leader both in creating and retaining jobs for highly skilled workers,” said Gov. Bevin. “We are grateful to have Toyota in Kentucky and look forward to a bright future together.”

Investing in the future
Investing in future engineers is a top priority for Toyota. In support of this, the automaker announced the following STEM- (science, technology, engineering, and math) related donations:

  • A nearly $400,000 donation to Morehead State University (MSU), in partnership with SOAR STEM (Save Our Appalachian Region), will implement STEM curriculum in 40 elementary schools over two years.
  • A $50,000 donation to the Kentucky Science Center will create “Robotics on the Road to Coding,” a program designed for students across the state in kindergarten through grade 10 to understand coding.
  • Toyota is also partnering with the University of Kentucky (UK) to create an undergraduate automotive production engineering certificate. Students will complete TPS – Toyota Production System – training, a two-semester senior design project identifying and solving current manufacturing problems.

“Programs that focus on STEM areas are the basis of a pipeline of qualified workers in manufacturing, especially in production engineering,” said Mike Goss, general manager, Social Innovation, Toyota Motor North America. “Toyota is committed to investing in initiatives that improve the skill levels of the job force, focusing on the next generation, because the success of Toyota, the Commonwealth, and our country depend on them.”

In addition to these initiatives, Toyota announced earlier this year that it is investing $10 billion in the U.S. over the next five years, adding to the $23.4 billion the automaker has invested in the past 60 years.

courtesy: pressroom.toyota.com