Japanese manufacturer Toyota is currently testing new technologies that allow cars to communicate with each other and the roads, The Detroit Free Press reports.
The testing is being done at the Intelligent Transport System site, which is a new facility in Japan covering more ground than three baseball stadiums. The grounds have sensors and transmitters, which send signals to the cars when there are pedestrians, red lights, blind spots and other on-road distractions. Vehicles are also able to share information with each other, allowing the models to make note of where the other cars are on the road.
According to Hot Hardware, the goal of these vehicles isn't to be autonomous. Drivers will still be the primary directors of the cars, with the added technology providing data to avoid potential accidents and the subsequent auto repair. Instead, the system will offer visual and verbal alerts when it feels drivers are about to do things like ignore a red light or speed through a crosswalk.
While there is still time before these technologies find themselves in new models, Toyota believes it will begin testing on public roads in Japan in 2014.