See The Toyota e-Palette Vehicles That Will Be Used To Transport Athletes And The Physical Challenge At The Olympics

The 2020 Olympic game will be a game of technology, science, and Artifical Intelligence. Japan is set to show the world why it remains the tech hub of the world in terms of cars, design and futuristic cars.

One of the futuristic vehicles that Toyota announced at the 46th Tokyo Motor Show 2019 was Toyota e-Palette. The company announced that it would supply up to 20 e-Palette vehicles specially designed to support athlete mobility during the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020.

Toyota e-Palette is automated, loop-line transportation to transport athletes and related staff around Olympic and Paralympic villages. It’s a battery-operated, autonomous vehicle adapted specifically during the games based on feedback from athletes about their mobility needs in the past games.

During the development process, athletes, especially Paralympians, helped the design team to better understand how e-Palette can meet the needs for simple, convenient, and comfortable mobility. This project is not just about designing a vehicle but it also offers great opportunities for passengers to interact with each other, share new experiences, and even be moved emotionally.

This is actually not a new design, e-Palette was announced in 2018 as a service vehicle. But for Tokyo 2020 Version, e-Palette has been adapted to meet the unique needs of Olympic and Paralympic villages with large doors and electric ramps. This new design allows for all athletes to board quickly and easily. This vehicle will be controlled by an automated driving system that can operate up to 20km/h supported by an on-board safety operator.

See photos of the vehicles below... 

All Tokyo 2020 Olympic Medals Are Made From Recycled Electronic Waste

All medals awarded to athletes at the Olympic Games present the greatest honour not just for athletes but also the country that hosts this international leading sporting event. Japan has been selected to host this prestigious event in 2020, these medals are also an opportunity for Japan to showcase its culture and charm to the rest of the world.

Carrying the spirit of an environmentally friendly and sustainable society, The Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Tokyo 2020) has conducted Tokyo 2020 Medal Project to collect unused electronic devices such as unused cell phones all over Japan. This decision marks the first time in history that the Olympic and Paralympic Games involve citizens and manufacture winning medals using recycled metal. Designed by Junichi Kawanishi, there are 5,000 medals in total that have been produced from those small electronic devices, thanks to people all over japan that contribute to this project. By recycling all those unused components, this project wants to show the world Japan’s effort to contribute to a sustainable society and it certainly becomes the legacy of Tokyo 2020 Games.

To achieve glory, athletes have to strive for victory on a daily basis, this is the main idea that Tokyo 2020 Olympic Medals want to capture. These medals look like rough stones that have been polished into a shiny object with light and brilliance overall themes. The medals collect and reflect myriad patterns of light that represent the energy of athletes and those who support them. It is intended to symbolize diversity, a world where people who compete in sports and work hard are honoured. These medals also represent the warm glow of friendship depicted by people all over the world holding hands. Each medal includes Nike, the Greek goddess of victory, the official name of the respective Games (in this case Olympic Games Tokyo 2020), and the Olympic five rings symbol.

Besides meaningful medals, the ribbon will also employ traditional Japanese design motifs that can be found in Ichimatsu Moyo (harmonized chequered patterns) and Kasane no Irome (traditional Kimono layering techniques) but in a modern presentation. This ribbon also symbolize “unity in diversity”, promoting Tokyo 2020 brand vision of “Innovation from Harmony”. The surface of the ribbon is applied with Silicone convex lines, therefore, anyone can easily recognise the type of medal (gold, silver, or bronze) simply by touching it.

The medal case design is also inspired by the Tokyo 2020 Games emblem. Each case pays tribute to Olympians who through hard work and discipline, have reached the pinnacle of athletic achievement. Created carefully by Japanese craftsmen, this medal case blends traditional and modern techniques, each case would feature distinctive wood fiber pattern, which is subtly infused into the design.

The Gold, Silver and Bronze Medals

The Victory Medal Ribbon

Medal Case Design

Watch the making below...

Toyota Supports Tokyo 2020 with Specially-designed "APM" Mobility Vehicle

In a bid to make 2020 Olympic memorable, fun and exciting, Toyota Motors have partnered with the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games Team to make unique shuttle buses during the fiesta.

The automaker unveiled the shuttle bus which will be used at the event and it is called APM (Accessible People Mover), it is an all-electric vehicle it designed especially for next summer's event. The open-air, three-row vehicle can reach speeds of up to 12 mph and accommodate up to five passengers. Each car is powered by lithium-ion batteries and can run 100 kilometers on a single charge. A fleet of 200 APMs will be used to transport people to different competitions and the Olympic Village.

Unsurprisingly, Toyota's APM isn't meant for the masses. The open-air vehicles resemble large golf carts, rather than futuristic vessels of public transportation. There's a good reason why. Toyota intends it to be a "last mile" solution for staff and athletes, as well as visitors with accessibility needs -- such as the disabled, pregnant women, the elderly or families with small children. Each APM can accommodate a wheelchair or a stretcher and includes an access ramp.

This transportation solution will no doubt be vital for disabled athletes and guests.

Toyota is expected to reveal even more innovations ahead of the event, including a flying car that will light up the Olympic torch and robots that can bring food and drinks to guests. The automaker is even planning on building robots that can assist guests in wheelchairs. With any luck, the 2020 Olympic Games will be a demonstration of technology's real-life impacts -- and not just futuristic whimsy.

Watch the video below...

Toyota and Panasonic Unveils Robots To Help Visitors At 2020 Olympics - Photos

It’s no secret Japan wants to use the 2020 Tokyo Olympics as a platform to flex its tech-induced muscles. Since it was awarded the games six years ago it has repeatedly outlined aims to use technology to achieve various different things such as facial recognition to streamline the entry of athletes, the launch of a robo-taxi service, and even recycling e-waste to create the Olympic medals. Now its efforts include the Tokyo 2020 robot project, which will bring all of its initiatives together under one roof.

The Tokyo 2020 robot project brings together experts like Panasonic and Toyota who unveiled new robots the project’s launch event last week. Toyota unveiled several new robots that it says will be able to assist disabled people attending the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Built by Toyota, the Human Support Robot (HSR) and Delivery Support Robot (DSR) will work together to provide assistance to spectators. HSR is a meter-high machine with a built-in arm for picking up trays and baskets, and the delivery support robot (DSR), functions as a mobile waste bin but carries snacks and other items when ordered via an app on a tablet or smartphone. Officials plan to deploy up to sixteen HSRs and around 10 DSRs, most of them at the Olympic stadium in Tokyo.

The robots are designed to aid visitors, especially those in wheelchairs by carrying food and other goods, guiding people to their seats, and providing event information. panasonic also showed off a power assist suit which works to provide support to the back and hip area so that wearers can perform lifting tasks without fear of injury. Panasonic said it plans to use 20 of the suits at the Olympics to assist in a range of lifting tasks, such as helping visitors with their luggage.

PEP Tandem Bike Concept for Disabled Olympic Racers

PEP Tandem Bike concept just won the 21st international bicycle design competition, excellent award. It’s a special bike designed for disabled Olympic racers and essentially it is an emotional design. It is the state of the struggle, the majesty and the achievement of reaching the goal. Innovative structure of PEP was designed for to help two disabled competitors control a single bike and help each other reach their destination with power. The name of this bicycle came from there.

Think about two bicycles… one is a tandem for two and the other is handcycle. These two have been created by opposite designs. Do you think that they can be combined? Yes! Think about these two different design styles are uniting in one case. Strength of the hands are supporting the power of the legs and two people are coming together for one purpose.

Uniting of the powers! The sole motivation point of these two people is determination! PEP is the name of the bicycle that can be used by visually impaired or physically disabled people. That is why it is called being each others eye, hand or foot.

It is possible that two Paralympic bicycle participants, from different categories, can participate in one field with the help of PEP. PEP bike brings a new wave to the games by the light and innovative design, and proves that disabilities are not barriers for the love of bicycle