First Public Road Test of Driverless Car Held in Japan

The Japanese prefectural government recently tested remote-controlled driverless vehicles on public roads for the first time. One of the tests was held last December 14 in Aichi prefecture, home to Toyota Motor Corp. and other auto companies.

The driverless car used in the test--a minivan--traveled along a road in the town of Kota at less than 15 kilometers per hour. The car drove on a route that the computer previously memorized, along with the traffic signs along the way.

Using onboard cameras and radar monitoring, the minivan navigated the 700-meter-long route and avoided vehicles and pedestrians, even briefly stopping at a crossing to let a gathering of photographers take a picture before continuing along the route.

The tests represented level 4 autonomy, or complete self-driving technology. However, the minivan was still being monitored remotely to ensure road safety. An operator monitored the vehicle for the entire duration of the test from the Kota community hall near the test course. The remote operator monitored footage transmitted by the onboard camera and sensors, while a human assistant was placed on the passenger seat to stop the car in the event of an emergency.

Hideaki Omura, the Aichi governor, partook in the test ride and gave his observation. "The steering wheel rotated very smoothly," he said. "I felt like I was experiencing the technology of the near future."

The prefectural government said that the test was the first of many. They plan to do more tests in March in Nagoya and other locations. They hope that their efforts will help promote the development of autonomous driving vehicles by Aichi-based auto industry firms that could potentially lead to the introduction of driverless taxis in the near future.

Another test held in Tokyo saw a similar driverless car travel a span of 150 meters at a speed of 20 kph. The setup was similar to the test conducted at Kota.

Testing of driverless cars on public roads were only made possible after the National Police Agency revised traffic rules in June. The 2020 target for the full operation of the driverless taxis is a way for Japan to showcase its cutting-edge technologies for that year’s Olympic and Paralympic Games to be held in Tokyo.