Japan's National Policy Agency (NPA) has announced the lifting of a ban that prevented level 4 autonomous vehicles from circulating on the country's roads. The decision will take effect in April 2023 and will allow autonomous vehicles to operate in limited capacity.
Autonomous vehicles also in the Rising Sun
In a public comment a few days ago, the NPA provided more details on this provision. BOLDLY, a subsidiary company of Tokyo-based SoftBank Corp., recently partnered with Auve Tech, an Estonian developer of autonomous shuttles, to implement autonomous shuttles designed specifically to travel on Japan's roads. The MiCa, this is the name of the mass autonomous vehicles, will be in operation by the end of the 2023 fiscal year.
BOLDLY has extensive experience in testing autonomous vehicles in Japan: it has already conducted more than 120 pilot projects in the country and is continuously operating partially autonomous shuttles in two locations in Japan (in the video you will see the active bus in Sakai city, in the photo the one that entered commissioned November 30 at Kamishikoro, near Hokkaido). With the help of this new law that paves the way for autonomous vehicles, it will be only the first of many Japanese companies ready to enter this promising market. Other Japanese autonomous vehicle companies, such as Tier IV, are planning similar rollouts in Japan in the coming months.
Why this acceleration on Japanese roads?
And where else? With her particular contradictions (the boundless love for the cash e faxes, working age high and relational complexities), one of the countries with the highest concentration of technology companies could only rapidly embrace the path towards roads populated by vehicles that travel alone.
Japan hopes to be able to offer road mobility services using these level 4 autonomous vehicles in 40 areas of the country by 2025 and in more than 100 areas by 2030. These services will likely include autonomous vehicles that will be used as delivery robots or tour buses on undemanding routes in populated areas.
Self-driving cars will eventually become ubiquitous in Japan and the rest of the world. And what do you think? Would they make you feel comfortable in your daily commute? Let me know on the Futuroprossimo social channels!
