Sounds Risky: Toyota Is Working on “Hitchless Towing,” Where Two Vehicles Are Only Connected Through WiFi
Yeah, not quite convinced that this is a good idea.
This sounds cool and futuristic, but what happens if the WiFi cuts out for a second? Because I’m picturing RUNAWAY VEHICLES! I’m picturing cars and campers driving aimlessly down the road crashing into just about EVERYTHING.
According to reports, Toyota is working on a new “hitchless towing” feature, where you’d be able to tow another car behind you without actually being connected to it physically. You’d just be connected WIRELESSLY.
They say a lot of the necessary features are already available in their Sienna minivans. So they’ve been testing it out. (Here’s a video.)
The trail car behind you does everything you do in real time. So if you change lanes or hit the brakes, it does too. It connects electronically, there’s no tow rope – no hitch – nothing but air and a really crazy big trust in technology.
So far, they’ve only done slow-speed tests with a safety driver in the trail car. And they’re leaving a big gap between them, just to be safe. But they’re hoping to shorten that gap soon, so the two cars are almost bumper-to-bumper.
Eventually, you could tow a camper with any car, even a Prius, because the motor on the second vehicle is running.
I suppose that it would also be handy if you had to follow a friend somewhere and not lose them. They could just wirelessly and you’d ride along like a chimpanzee in a bubble with bucket seats. I also suppose that it’s a little safer than a fully autonomous car that’s just running on GPS, but I’m not 100% I trust that either!
But for now, they’re only planning to do it with unoccupied vehicles in the back. They could start testing it on highways by next year.
Here’s a video of this insane idea:
