Toyota Concept-i bows at CES 2017

A concept car that learns from and builds a relationship with its driver is Toyota's star at the 2017 CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas.

Unveiled this morning Australian time and dubbed Concept-i, the core of the concept is its powerful artificial intelligence, dubbed 'Yui'.

Toyota says it wants the drivers and car to form a warm, welcoming and fun relationship rather than simply have an interface, which is somewhat ironic given the traditional image of Toyota's as whitegoods on wheels.

"This is a vehicle that grows with you. The more you drive the smarter Yui gets," declared Bob Carter, Toyota's senior vice president of automotive operations.

"It learns to anticipate your needs. And that intelligence is about more than just planning your next route.

"Yui uses sophisticated bio-metric systems to monitor the driver's attention and emotions and can help determine when the trade-off control [in] the vehicle between automated and manual driving depending on the conditions [happens]."

Yui's various strategies and components deliver it the ability to monitor multiple technologies and map where and when the driver travels to.

AI also allows the Concept-I to help with safety, by combining advanced vehicle technologies with visual and haptic stimuli to augment communication. Critical information is transmitted via light, sound or touch.

For instance, colored lights in the footwells indicate whether the vehicle is in automated or manual drive; discrete projectors in the rear deck project views onto the seat pillar to help warn about blind spots, and a next-generation head-up helps keep the driver's eyes and attention on the road.

Outside, greetings appear on door panels for the driver and passengers as they approach the vehicle. The rear of the vehicle shows messages to communicate about upcoming turns or warn about a potential hazard. The front of the vehicle communicates whether the Concept-i is in automated or manual drive.

Designed by Toyota's CALTY Design Research in Newport Beach, California, and with user experience technology development from the Toyota Innovation Hub in San Francisco, the Concept-i is undoubtedly avantgarde, with its four gullwing doors and covered rear wheels.

Toyota calls the overall exterior and four-seater interior concept 'kinetic warmth'.

Toyota did not release any information about the car's power system. Maybe that will come next week at the Detroit auto show.

Campbell said many of the concepts featured by the Concept-i would be tested in Japan within years.