Toyota Motor Corp. and Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. will cooperate on high-speed communication technology for "connected cars," sources said Thursday.
Toyota and NTT will jointly study the use of next-generation 5G technology to enable autonomous cars to gather information on traffic conditions and exchange data between self-driving vehicles to ensure smooth and safe operation.
Toyota has already developed a communication system which can be used to monitor traffic to avoid congested roads and help drivers navigate during natural disasters.
The automaker has also worked with mobile carrier KDDI Corp. to develop a global platform for connected cars, aiming to equip all of its vehicles sold in Japan and the United States with a device to access the network by 2020.
Honda Motor Co. and SoftBank Group Corp. are seeking to jointly develop an artificial intelligence-based system for cars that can interact with drivers.
Nissan Motor Co. has tied up with DeNA Co. on developing driverless cars and a system to provide autonomous driving services.