Toyota Smart INSECT is aptly named

[CEATEC 2012] Adding to the list of weird names for products we’ve seen at CEATEC 2012, we’ve now got the Toyota Smart INSECT. However, instead of a six-legged creature as its name implies, we get a fully-electric vehicle with aesthetic stylings that make it resemble one. The Toyota Smart INSECT (acronym for Information Network Social Electric City Transporter) is a one-seater car with two doors that flip up gull-wing style and a curved windshield that make it look like some sort of mechanical bug. Not many details about the car have been released (mileage, speed etc) but it does have some interesting features we haven’t seen in other cars. Motion sensors and facial recognition capabilities allow the car to recognize its driver when he/she walks towards it, so they can unlock the car without having to do anything. Users can then open or close a door without touching it. Pretty cool for folks with their hands full after a trip to the supermarket.

The car will also be fully connected to a cloud service – the Toyota Smart Center, which monitors and records a driver’s information, preferences, habits and more. This information can be analyzed and then turned into tips that drivers can use to help them improve their fuel efficiency when driving and so on. A smartphone dock in the car also gives more smart functionality to the vehicle when a smartphone is plugged into it. It’s not ready to be released to the public anytime soon but with clever cars like these in the works, the future of smart automobiles looks pretty bright. Check out more photographs of the car in the gallery: