Google is no stranger to competition on the web, but what about on the mean streets of the automated driving world? Because that's exactly what the search giant is about to get. Toyota on Friday released this short teaser trailer for semi-driverless car technology of its own.

Why "semi-driverless?" Toyota's technology is intended to boost safety when there's a real human at the wheel by detecting obstacles or alerting the driver if he's falling asleep. It can, however, go completely autonomous and control itself if need be.

The video shows a 2013 Lexus LX (Toyota owns Lexus) equipped with what Toyota's calling "Intelligent Transport Systems" technology, or ITS for short. ITS includes a radar for monitoring the road environment as well as a communications system for "talking" to other vehicles — technology which, if universally adopted, could pave the way for "smart" highways where cars react to one another automatically.

The video shows a driver at the wheel, but it's a likely bet we'll see more hands-off action when Toyota releases more details about the system during CES next week. Other manufactures, including Audi, have been teasing similar announcements.

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