At the 2025 Japan Mobility Show, Toyota recently unveiled a lineup of futuristic concepts—from a four-legged autonomous walking chair to emotion-responsive vehicles—that showcase the company’s bold vision for the future of mobility.
This year’s show highlighted a variety of inventive designs, but two lifestyle concepts stood out above the rest. The first, called Walk Me, looks like something out of a Tim Burton film: a four-legged autonomous chair designed to traverse a wide range of terrain far beyond what a traditional wheelchair can manage. Toyota says the idea is to solve everyday mobility challenges through design and engineering, enabling users to climb stairs, navigate uneven outdoor surfaces, and even access vehicles more easily.
Unlike conventional wheelchairs, Walk Me uses four robotic limbs—picture a gentle, soft-edged robotic spider—that lift, bend, and move independently. Each leg is wrapped in padded material that conceals its sensors and mechanical systems, creating a safe and approachable moving chair.
The design draws inspiration from animal locomotion, mimicking the natural motions of goats and crabs to maintain balance on varied terrain. Walk Me can glide smoothly over flat ground, yet is equally capable of handling stairs, gravel, and outdoor pathways.
Safety remains central to the device’s engineering. When climbing steps, the chair’s front legs test each stair before lifting the user upward, while the rear legs push from behind. Onboard LiDAR and environmental sensors scan for obstacles—including toys, rug edges, and uneven flooring—while integrated weight sensors help keep the rider centered. The chair also uses collision-avoidance radar that can stop movement instantly if something crosses its path.
For users, comfort and control were top design priorities. Walk Me features a contoured seat with a supportive curved backrest, manual side handles, directional-control buttons, and hands-free voice commands for navigation and speed changes. A built-in armrest display shows battery life and distance traveled, and a compact rear battery provides daily power with simple overnight charging.
Your car loves you
The second major reveal, the Toyota Cyber Love, offers a striking—and slightly uncanny—glimpse at a future where mobility, emotion, and digital interaction blend into a single experience.
With its fluid aesthetic, immersive lighting, and a cabin that reacts to voice, gesture, and touch, Cyber Love feels less like a car and more like a personal lounge.
Toyota envisions the vehicle as a companion, not just transportation: a mobile platform integrating AI, augmented reality, and emotionally responsive design. Its name reflects this ambition—a machine intended to engage both the senses and emotions through seamless interaction.
Still, when concepts like Walk Me and Cyber Love push the boundaries of mobility and technology, they raise bigger questions: namely, what can we really expect to come next in the future of transportation?
Chrissy Newton is a PR professional and the founder of VOCAB Communications. She currently appears on The Discovery Channel and Max and hosts the Rebelliously Curious podcast, which can be found on YouTube and on all audio podcast streaming platforms. Follow her on X: @ChrissyNewton, Instagram: @BeingChrissyNewton, and chrissynewton.com.