The i-unit is an ultra-compact single seater four wheeled

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

concept car A concept car (also known as a concept vehicle, show vehicle or prototype) is a car made to showcase new styling and/or new technology. They are often exhibited at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or ...

. It debuted at the World Expo 2005, held in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. The vehicle is a cross between a

microcar Microcar is a term often used for the smallest size of cars, with three or four wheels and often an engine smaller than . Specific types of microcars include bubble cars, cycle cars, invacar, quadricycles and voiturettes. Microcars are oft ...

, a motorcycle, and a vehicular

exoskeleton An exoskeleton (from Greek ''éxō'' "outer" and ''skeletós'' "skeleton") is an external skeleton that supports and protects an animal's body, in contrast to an internal skeleton (endoskeleton) in for example, a human. In usage, some of the ...

. The goal of Toyota is to provide a ''personal mobility'', which can be used on roads but also does not hinder interaction with pedestrians. For this the i-unit has two possible setups. First, there is an upright ''low speed'' setup, where the rider has a higher position and can have conversations face-to-face with pedestrians and can move among people. This upright position can be transformed while driving to a low position, where the rider sits much lower and more reclined. This ''high speed'' setup has a much lower

center of gravity In physics, the center of mass of a distribution of mass in space (sometimes referred to as the balance point) is the unique point where the weighted relative position of the distributed mass sums to zero. This is the point to which a force ma ...

and is for driving at higher speeds. The i-unit weighs . It contains a

lithium ion battery A lithium-ion or Li-ion battery is a type of rechargeable battery which uses the reversible reduction of lithium ions to store energy. It is the predominant battery type used in portable consumer electronics and electric vehicles. It also see ...

and features Intelligent Transport System technology. The rear wheels are powered by electric motors, and the device is steered with the front wheels. In the upright position it has a turning radius of , which means it can turn on the spot. The vehicle is controlled by two joystick-like devices at the front of the armrests, and uses a

Drive-by-wire Drive by wire, DbW, by-wire, steer-by-wire, fly-by-wire or x-by-wire technology in the automotive or aviation industry is the use of electrical or electro-mechanical systems for performing vehicle functions traditionally achieved by mechanical link ...

technology. An Intelligent Transport System (ITS) technology aims to reduce the likelihood of

accident An accident is an unintended, normally unwanted event that was not directly caused by humans. The term ''accident'' implies that nobody should be blamed, but the event may have been caused by unrecognized or unaddressed risks. Most researche ...

s. The color of the lights can change according to the preferences or emotions of the operator. The shape was designed to symbolize a

leaf A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, ste ...

, and the design incorporates environmentally friendly materials such as

kenaf Kenaf tymology: Persian ''Hibiscus cannabinus'', is a plant in the family Malvaceae also called Deccan hemp and Java jute. ''Hibiscus cannabinus'' is in the genus '' Hibiscus'' and is native to Africa, though its exact origin is unknown. The name ...

. This concept vehicle is used by Toyota for

public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. ...

, and they state that ''The "i-unit" is a form of "personal mobility" that seeks to attain a greater balance of meeting individuals' wishes to enjoy freedom of movement, harmony with society, and harmony with the Earth's natural environment.'' They also refer to these vehicles as ''wearable personal mobility vehicles''. A representative at the IAA 2005 in

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...

stated that Toyota may plan to offer these type of vehicles for sale, but did not provide a date when the vehicle will be available. Currently the vehicle lacks features such as a storage compartment (i.e. Trunk or

glove compartment A glove compartment or glove box is a compartment built into the dashboard of an automobile, located over the front-seat passenger's footwell, and often used for miscellaneous storage. The name derives from the original purpose of the compart ...

), and the protection against bad weather is inadequate. Twelve i-units together with two

Toyota i-foot is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 m ...

s (two legged walking seats for one passenger, maximum capacity 60 kg) performed at the Toyota Pavilion at the 2005 World Expo in Aichi. The i-unit has been superseded by the i-swing, a three-wheeler that leans in curves. One of the i-units produced is on display in the London Science Museum, where its bio-plastic panels are featured.

References

External links

Toyota Press ReleaseToyota's innovative technology - i-uniti-unit Video
{{Toyota cars

I-unit The instruction unit (I-unit or IU), also called, e.g., instruction fetch unit (IFU), instruction issue unit (IIU), instruction sequencing unit (ISU), in a central processing unit (CPU) is responsible for organizing program instructions to be fetche ...

See also

References

External links