Startup Tier IV develops self-driving electric taxi in Japan

A development project for self-driving electric taxis is starting in Japan. The startup Tier IV, which specialises in software for autonomous driving, is working together with the company Toray Carbon Magic to develop a newly designed robotaxi in the form of an electric van.

According to a report by Wired, the startup Tier IV, which specialises in autonomous driving technology, has been selected by the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry for a demonstration project in Tokyo. As part of this, the company has now begun developing an electric taxi prototype that will support Level 4 autonomous driving. There is no further information on the electric drive in the report.

The vehicle itself is to take the form of a box-shaped minivan and offer four to six seats next to the driver. It is ‘likely’ that a driver’s seat will still be installed so that the transport service staff can monitor operations from inside the vehicle. Level 4 is basically described as fully automated driving, in which humans no longer need to be on hand to intervene. However, the autonomy of the vehicle at level 4 is still linked to certain conditions, such as a predefined route.

For the development of the prototype, Tier IV will be working with Toray Carbon Magic, a specialist in lightweight vehicle construction. The schedule for the completion of the series model has not yet been finalised. However, as Tier IV wants to start commercial test operations as early as November, the start-up is using a series-produced taxi vehicle called JPN Taxi in parallel to its own development and equipping it with its solution. The service with autonomous taxis is due to start in Odaiba in Tokyo in November. Similar services are then to be launched in two other Tokyo neighbourhoods – Shinjuku and Minato – by 2025.

The Japanese government is pushing ahead with this development. It wants to ensure that level 4 autonomous transport services can be offered in more than 100 municipalities in the country by 2027. Other Japanese players – such as Nissan – are therefore also developing technologies in this direction. Nissan launched field tests on public roads in June. Building on this, the manufacturer intends to offer autonomous mobility services in Japan in the 2027 financial year.

wired.com, tier4.jp

1 Comment

about „Startup Tier IV develops self-driving electric taxi in Japan“

JohnH

26.08.2024 um 16:21

It's not a taxi if it's on a fixed route. This sounds similar to the taxis operating on the Shankill and Falls roads in Belfast since the early 70s when the Troubles knocked out the Belfast Transport buses. It actually might have potential but not just in cities. Large swathes of Kent have no buses after 18:00 so a fixed route low cost Taxi service running on one route might be cost effective to run all through the night and only if there are passengers to be picked out.