Lexus picks Brussels for self-driving tests because city is "complex"

Lexus will carry out its first European tests with a self-driving car in Brussels. So far, mother company Toyota only carried out such tests in Japan and the US. 

A Lexus LS equipped with lidar, sensors and cameras, will run on a fixed route with a safety driver and a technician on board.

In cities with large numbers of pedestrians and cyclists, who are prone to behave erratically, autonomous driving systems face a number of challenges that do not exist on motorways. Brussels was chosen because it has a complex, diverse population with 184 nationalities.

“The goal of the pilot is to obtain data about human behaviour, which is complex and unpredictable,” said Gerald Killmann, Vice-President of Toyota Motor Europe R&D.