A venture firm and a major taxi company on Monday began a trial of passenger-carrying autonomous taxi services with an eye on launching the full service around 2020 when Tokyo hosts the Olympics and the Paralympics. ZMP Inc, a Tokyo-based developer of autonomous driving technology, and Hinomaru Kotsu
A venture firm and a major taxi company on Monday began a trial of passenger-carrying autonomous taxi services with an eye on launching the full service around 2020 when Tokyo hosts the Olympics and the Paralympics.
ZMP Inc, a Tokyo-based developer of autonomous driving technology, and Hinomaru Kotsu Co, said they are the first in the world to offer autonomous taxi services to fare-paying passengers in the test through Sept 8.
The initiative comes as automakers and other businesses at home and abroad compete in the development of autonomous vehicles. General Motors Co and Waymo, a spinoff of tech giant Google, have started tests on public roads in the United States, while Nissan Motor Co and DeNA Co conducted tests on a ride-hailing service in Yokohama in March.
In the trial by ZMP and Hinomaru, a minivan equipped with sensors and other autonomous technologies makes four round trips a day between commercial facilities in Tokyo’s Otemachi and Roppongi districts, which are about 5.
