Test Run Of Robot Taxis Scheduled For Next Year In Japan

Do you ever find yourself uncertain as to how much you should tip your cab driver? Well, for approximately 50 people in Japan next year, this will cease to be a problem when a test service of driverless taxis starts running between their homes and the local grocery store.

The innovative service is scheduled for a broader launch in Japan in 2020, with next year’s experiment taking place in the Kanagawa prefecture, south of Tokyo. The company behind the futuristic concept, Robot Taxi, is a joint venture between mobile-internet firm DeNA and vehicle-technology developer ZMP. The two first announced their intentions in May, explaining that they would roll out self-driving taxis and buses in the future.

Robot Taxi’s system incorporates GPS, millimeter-wave radar, stereo vision cameras, and image analysis in order to work. During the trial, the cabs will drive a distance of about 2 miles, with some portions of the trip taking place on major roads. Crew members will be on board in case they are required to take over control of the vehicle to avoid accidents.

The company announced the test run at a ceremony this week in Yokohama, the prefecture’s capital, with attendees including Shinjiro Koizumi, the son of former prime minister Junichiro Koizumi and a vice minister in the current government.

“There are a lot of people who say it’s impossible, but I think this will happen faster than people expect,” Koizumi said of self-driving cars.

There are certainly some in the auto industry who feel that Japan has been slow to get involved in the development of self-driving cars and that the country risks losing the market to foreign rivals, such as Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Ford, Tesla, Google and others. However, this exciting announcement from Robot Taxi proves that Japanese companies still have a chance to be at the forefront of the self-driving car revolution that is heating up globally.

Robot Taxi’s trials will be targeting senior citizens and people who do not have access to public transportation. Japan is the most rapidly aging country in the world, with over 60,000 citizens aged 100 or older and a quarter of the entire country currently being at least 65 years old. Once it is up and running, Robot Taxi’s service will largely be targeted at this aging section of the population.