Toyota has invested more than £680 million to research artificial intelligence and robotics for future automotive applications, in the last year.

The investment comes ahead of the Governments announcement that it will introduce a Modern Transport Bill to “put Britain at the forefront of the modern transport revolution.”

Toyota has established the Toyota Research Institute (TRI), serving as a bridge between scientific research and product development. An additional £34 million is being invested during the same period for joint research projects at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University.

Having announced the setting up of research centres in Palo Alto and Cambridge, Massachusetts, TRI has added a third location in Ann Arbor, which will benefit from close links to the University of Michigan and Toyota’s established R&D facilities in the region.

Together the three TRI operations will explore fully autonomous driving, so-called “guardian angel driving” where the vehicle assists the driver when required, and simulations to determine how the technologies can successfully be applied in real-world situations.

Akio Toyoda, Toyota Motor Corporation president, said: “As technology continues to progress, so does our ability to improve products. At Toyota we do not pursue innovation simply because we can; we pursue it because we should. It is our responsibility to make life better for our customers and society as a whole.”

In Japan, Toyota has successfully taken its automated driving technology onto the public highway; this progress suggests the possible launch of related products by 2020.