Toyota Research Institute

The Toyota Research Institute has been doing some incredible work teaching robots to rapidly learn and perform tasks autonomously – now, it's bringing its Large Behavior Model tech to the extraordinary Atlas humanoid in partnership with Boston Dynamics.

Toyota and Stanford University have been pushing self-driving technology beyond the limits of traction for several years now, and they've now released video of two autonomous cars drifting in tandem, getting very sideways with extreme precision.

Most humanoid robots pick things up with their hands – but that's not how we humans do it, particularly when we're carrying something bulky. We use our chests, hips and arms as well – and that's the idea behind Toyota's new soft robot.

There are many things we expect from automated vehicle technology, but that list does not include screeching drift mode. That's the benchmark Toyota Research Institute hit in a quest to develop autonomy that can extreme-maneuver out of danger.

The Toyota Research Institute (TRI) may have only began operation in January, 2016, but it has already developed a test vehicle built around a current model Lexus LS 600hL to aid in the development of autonomous driving technologies.