Toyota’s 3-Year Toilet Creation.

Wheelchair-Friendly Toilet: Impressive Features

Indeed, amusing comments will likely accompany this article. Before we celebrate with laughter though, it’s important to give Toyota their due for creating a practical solution that works well for those who may face mobility difficulties. Technical difficulties at public events often include the problem of needing access to a wheelchair functional washroom. This ingenious Toyota Toilet eliminates that issue and even looks spectacular doing it!

It all began in year 2019. Tasked with an unlikely mandate, the Toyota Vision Design Unit was asked to craft a toilet that was much more than a commonplace cubicle featuring the Toyota emblem. The intent was to design one which is movable and easily available to those who have exceptional requirements. Thinking of wheelchair users, commonly confronted with outdoor lavatories that are impracticable to access at temporary places, the Japanese car maker determined they had to take additional steps beyond the specified criteria.

The result stands here. The prototype had initially been scheduled for testing at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, unfortunately, the COVID crisis modified this timeframe and pushed it to 2021, when the games ultimately took place. A number of additions like a seat around a few centimeters higher than usual had been included to better meet the requirements of many different individuals. Handrails were put up to let people using wheelchairs the courtsey of completing 360-degree turns. To create a light environment skylights and vibrant colors of interior design were utilized, although these endeavors failed for being useless. Floors were colored in light tones and easily showed effects from wheelchairs plus ended up becoming slippery. Toyota consequently revised the plan including darker, textured floors.

Regarding portability, the original intention behind the design was to create a moveable lavatory. However, for the sake of convenience, this plan was changed to constructing a towed trailer instead. Though this didn’t mean sacrificing complexity in the construction of the commode; ensuring that it could be pulled without requiring specialist licenses or permits necessitated utilising a lightweight sandwich-style structure comprising foam and thin metal, similar to those found on refrigerated trailers. Furthermore, Toyota designers adapted a low-water usage system akin to those deployed on Japan’s bullet trains, thereby noticeably reducing the consumption of water.

The report from Toyota Times stated that, even today, adjustments are receiving attention. At the 2022 World Rally Championship happening in Japan, after deployment, people claimed that a door controllable by power and a straightforward locking system will make things a lot simpler.

Despite those who may take amusement in the idea of a Toyota Gazoo Racing branded outhouse, it provides those with physical impediments the opportunity to experience outdoor activities, like motorsports, that are so often taken for granted. We should strive to see more such facilities become available in the foreseeable future.

Source: Toyota