TOKYO – In the face of a serious shortage of drivers in the logistics industry, Japan’s government and commercial vehicle makers are accelerating experiments aimed at putting self-driving trucks into practical use. They are aiming to attain so-called Level 4 autonomous driving, or driving without human intervention under certain conditions.
In addition to carrying out the trials, they will also make efforts to gain the public’s understanding of self-driving trucks to ease concerns.
Autonomous driving for large vehicles carries a risk of being “rejected by the public with a single accident,” a senior official of a commercial vehicle maker said.
“We’re aiming to achieve a level of driving on par with or exceeding that of a careful driver,” for self-driving trucks, Isuzu Motors Ltd. Senior Executive Officer Hiroshi Sato told reporters on Nov. 18 in the town of Mukawa in the northernmost Japan prefecture of Hokkaido, where a test run by a large self-driving truck was shown to the media that day.
The experiment was conducted on an approximately five-kilometer test course, with the truck autonomously changing lanes, overtaking other vehicles, and smoothly accelerating at the start and decelerating when coming to a halt. The driver was seated but did not touch the steering wheel or the brakes. (Jiji Press)