TOKYO: Following Toyota and Nissan, Bosch is the latest car company to realise the benefits that Japan offers as a location for developing and testing autonomous driving technologies in real-world conditions.
The company is setting up a dedicated facility in the country with the aim of having a highway pilot system – that can take over the driving on freeways – ready for production vehicles by 2020.
“Because people there drive on the left, and because of the complex traffic conditions, Japan provides us with valuable insights for development,” said Dr Dirk Hoheisel, a member of the board of management of Robert Bosch GmbH.
The US has established itself as the country for carmakers looking to develop autonomous driving technologies in real-word conditions. The subject even made President Obama’s State of the Union address on January 14. America is allocating US$4 billion in funds specifically for automated vehicle research and development, but the focus is on easing congestion and pollution and reducing the number of road traffic accidents.
“Meeting the challenge of a transformation to a cleaner and more modern transportation sector requires infrastructure that reduces congestion not by just paving new lanes, but by making better use of the lanes and capacity we have. Autonomous vehicles offer us a realistic way of doing that,” said the head of the Department of Transportation (DOT), Anthony Foxx.
According to UN figures, 1.25 million people around the world are killed each year in road traffic accidents, and 90% are caused by human error. “In critical traffic situations, the right support can save lives,” explains Hoheisel about the technologies Bosch is developing.
Autonomous driving is also predictive, considerate driving, and US studies show that the types of autopilot technologies that will soon be production realities could offer fuel savings of up to 39%; less fuel burned means less pollution generated.
However, allowing semi-autonomous cars on the road for testing and clearing the regulatory and moral issues surrounding the technology so that it can become a consumer reality, is another matter.
During the Tokyo motor show, Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn underlined this problem. “No one can put autonomous driving technology on a car and let you benefit from it without the regulator accepting it,” he said.
And that is one of the major reasons why Japan is set to become a very attractive location for taking semi-autonomous technology to the next level. “I think that if there is a government that is ready to launch it then it will be Japan,” said Ghosn.
Keyword: Can Japan overtake the US as the place to test autonomous driving tech?