When we talk about autonomous cars, it is most likely that we think of automatic pilot systems as imperfect as the auto pilot of Tesla Motors. But Japan knows that things are different.
Technology in this field has made enormous strides. But the reality is that the events that end up appearing in the news are almost always the tragic things that happen with this line of electric cars that are far from being considered autonomous.
In fact, curiously, in Japan there is a community of engineers and scientists who have spent a long time developing platforms and systems that test the real efficiency of these mechanisms.
The matter has reached such a degree that reactive eyes have even been installed on autonomous vehicles as a measure of interaction between pedestrians and vehicles to improve the safety of all.
Their path traveled is much broader than in the West and everything indicates that they are ready to take the big leap and fully incorporate this class of cars on their roads within the cities.
Japan paves its way to self-driving cars in 2023
According to a report from friends of The Robot Report Starting in April 2023, Japan, through the National Police Agency (NPA), will implement a new regulation in its Traffic Law for autonomous driving systems.
With this new change, the circulation of unmanned vehicles will be allowed on public roads throughout the country, including the large metropolises that make up the country.
Although, it should be noted, there will be a series of conditions that will force those who use this type of technology to closely monitor its correct performance, applying remote tracking mechanisms through monitoring devices, as well as assigning supervisory personnel to prevent accidents.
The intention of these mechanisms is to have a real-time audio and video multimedia record that makes it possible to know at all times what is happening with the vehicle during its journey. Although this will indirectly force the adoption of extra measures in the future in terms of cyber security.
There are a few months left before the roads are opened to autonomous cars and interested companies must take advantage of this time to present their operation plan to the public safety commission of each Japanese prefecture.
There will be minimum dimensions allowed for vehicles, 120 centimeters long, 70 wide and 120 high, at a maximum speed of six kilometers per hour.
Delivery robots and tour buses will be the main vehicles in this new era for Japan’s public roads, particularly on specific routes in sparsely populated areas.