Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer
Japanese startup T2 Inc. has successfully tested Level 2 autonomous trucks on ordinary roads, the company announced Wednesday.
It marked the first time trucks with Level 2 autonomous driving technology -- which requires a driver to be present who can take action as needed -- have successfully operated on ordinary Japanese roads, according to T2, a startup that develops automated trucking systems.
Commercial operation of Level 2 autonomous trucks has already been realized in Japan on expressways. However, autonomous driving on ordinary roads, with the presence of traffic lights and pedestrians, is considered more challenging than on expressways.
T2 conducted trial runs in mid-September on ordinary roads near the Ayase Smart Interchange of the Tomei Expressway in Kanagawa Prefecture and the Nishinomiya-kita Interchange of the Chugoku Expressway in Hyogo Prefecture. In both cases, the company successfully operated an autonomous truck for several hundred meters between a toll gate and a specified location without driver intervention.
T2 was established in 2022 through investment from Mitsui & Co. and Preferred Networks Inc., an AI-development company. The startup aims to realize Level 4 autonomous driving technology -- which allows full automation under certain conditions -- by utilizing AI and other advanced technologies, by fiscal 2027 (which starts in April) at the earliest.
----
This article is from The Yomiuri Shimbun. Neither Dow Jones Newswires, MarketWatch, Barron's nor The Wall Street Journal were involved in the creation of this content.
YDN-M0000241700-1
Comments