Toyota readying Intellitouch touchpad controllers?

"Intellitouch" is the name Toyota will apparently use to refer to a new electronic control scheme it is developing. That's according to Car and Driver, which has spotted the name in a new Toyota trademark application. According to the submission, the name refers to "electronic touch sensitive controllers, sold as an integral part of motor vehicles."

C/D speculates that for Toyota to bother developing a brand name, there must be more to the new gadgets than just touchscreen navigation. In fact, the magazine thinks Toyota is gearing up for Intellitouch to compete with Cadillac's Cue and Ford's MyFordTouch and their capacitive touch switchgear. The control setup could also be similar to the gesture-based touchpad systems already offered by Audi and shortly, by BMW.

Another Toyota trademark filing is for "EBIN," a wireless charging system for personal electronics. While inductive chargers have been around for a while, several automakers are rushing to include them in upcoming models. General Motors recently trademarked the name, "Dockspot" for its version.