Before anyone gets too excited, bear in mind that Toyota’s latest piece of driving tech has a series of limitations that puts it out of the reach of most drivers around the world. Currently set to become available in Japan but with a broader release planned, Toyota has revealed an in-car device called the Sports Drive Logger.
What it does is track the “…GPS data, accelerator pedal strokes, steering angles, brake operation signals, shift operation signals, engine speed and vehicle speed” of the company’s ’86’ sports car and collect that information on a USB drive so that drivers can transfer their skills to Sony’s driving simulator: Gran Turismo 6. The result is that users will be able to keep track of their time on the track and then later race against their real-world skills from the comfort of their couch. Assuming they meet the various requirements, that is.
It seems that Gran Turismo 6 won’t remain the only thing that the Sports Drive Logger will be compatible with but Toyota haven’t revealed their plans in that direction yet.
It does, however, mean that prospective real-world/virtual driving interchangers will have to have access to Toyota’s’86’, one of three Japanese race track and a PlayStation 3 in order to use the Sports Drive Logger. The company says that they plan on adding extra circuits to the device at a later stage, so it probably won’t be limited to Japan for long.
Based on the video that Toyota has released showing the device in action, the data reproduction that can be added to Sony’s driving sim is pretty accurate, especially when you see the real-world and digital runs side-by-side. If someone is willing to lend us an 86, we’ll be the first to test it out. For science.
