Saitama Institute of Technology and Fukaya Kanko Bus Co., Ltd. have expanded the self-driving section of the "Shibusawa Eiichi Rongo no Sato Circulation Bus" to about 26km.This means that it has realized long-distance autonomous driving, which is unprecedented for an autonomous bus that operates on general public roads in Japan.
"Shibusawa Eiichi The Analects Village Circulation Bus" is a place related to Shibusawa Eiichi, who is said to be the father of the modern Japanese economy, in line with NHK's taiga drama "Reach Beyond the Blue Sky," which began airing in February 2021. As a foot for those who visit a certain "The Analects Village", the operation was started in collaboration with industry, academia and government.
At the beginning of operation, the self-driving minibus (Liesse II), which was developed by Saitama Institute of Technology and acquired the green number as the first commercial vehicle in Saitama Prefecture, runs about 8km in a limited section by self-driving. From April 2021, 4, the second large autonomous driving bus (Rainbow) with a total length of 29 m was introduced, and while conducting commercial operation, development was promoted and the driving section where autonomous driving was possible was gradually extended.
And this time, we have realized a significant extension to 3 km, which is about three times the start time, and it is possible to drive automatically in all sections (except around Fukaya Station and part of the old Nakasendo) from the first Nakacho bus departure and arrival station. became.
Self-driving buses operate 1 times a day on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays.If all passengers cannot be seated, if there is not enough distance between pedestrians on the street and the bus, or if there is a large delay in the operation schedule due to traffic jams, we switch from automatic operation to manual operation. ..
Saitama Institute of Technology's self-driving bus actively adopts AI technology, and it is characterized by traveling on general public roads at legal speed while utilizing the abundant experience and know-how that has participated in many demonstration experiments all over the country. ..By immediately and smoothly switching between automatic driving by the system and manual driving by the driver, safe driving according to traffic conditions is realized.The self-driving vehicle currently in operation is being developed by Saitama Institute of Technology as a smart mobility demonstration assistance project for the Saitama Prefecture Advanced Industry Creation Project in 2020.
