Hamamatsu City Demonstration Experiment Support Project

The “Hamamatsu City Demonstration Experiment Support Project” is an initiative sponsored by Hamamatsu City to recruit and implement projects from all over the country to conduct demonstration experiments of unique technologies and ideas in Hamamatsu City, which has a variety of natural environments. We are promoting industrial development by solving social issues in Hamamatsu City and utilizing technology through various support such as mediation of demonstration fields and project cost support.

Macnica, in collaboration with PerceptIn Japan LLC, conducted an autonomous driving demonstration experiment using a newly manufactured ultra-compact mobility vehicle (macniCAR-01). This demonstration experiment is the first in Japan to drive on public roads using an ultra-low-cost autonomous driving system that does not use LiDAR or high-precision 3D maps (notes) in this region. Through this social experiment, Macnica was able to understand mobility issues in hilly and mountainous areas, verify the driving environment and autonomous driving technology in this area, and verify the convenience of transportation services for local residents.

Macnica and PerceptIn are working on this demonstration experiment as a first step toward realizing a mobile service to solve mobility issues in hilly and mountainous areas.

Contents of the social experiment

For four days from Saturday, November 21, 2020 to Tuesday, November 24, 2020, Tajima EV's Gian (ultra-compact mobility) + PerceptIn's autonomous driving system will be combined, mainly for residents living in the Misakubo area of Hamamatsu City. We provided a transportation service that runs a route of about 2 km in the Misakubo district using a new vehicle (macniCAR-01). In order to ensure safety while driving, we ran at a speed of about 5 km/h, and it took about 30 minutes one way, including waiting at 5 stops.

This experiment uses a new model autonomous driving and runs on public roads. With your cooperation, we are conducting a risk assessment in advance according to the environment and conditions of the driving route.

In addition, during the preparation period, we have been making preparations while cooperating with related parties in order to safely implement the demonstration experiment, such as reporting to the competent police and residents' association.

In addition, on November 19th (Thursday), during the preparation of this demonstration experiment, there was also a request from Hamamatsu City in advance, and a "special class" on the theme of autonomous driving for elementary and junior high school students in the Misakubo area was held. It was a great stimulus for us as well, as we had the opportunity to introduce cutting-edge technology to the children who will be responsible for the future, and at the same time give them the opportunity to dream.

Social experiment results

In this social experiment, about 110 people boarded the four-day service. Partly because it autonomous driving during the event period, the overall boarding rate was about 70%. It was a result of recognizing the expected value.

In terms of safety, we were able to obtain a certain level of evaluation by conducting preliminary risk assessments and setting safe autonomous driving speeds. One thing has become clear and we will continue to make adjustments for future experiments to be conducted elsewhere.

Approximately 90% of people are willing to pay for the "user fee" if a mobile service like this is realized, and about 30% of people are willing to pay 200 yen or more. I made it. It is a well-known fact that implementation of services using autonomous driving vehicles generally requires a lot of initial investment and maintenance costs. We will continue to consider the business feasibility of “improving earnings through services that add transportation and more.”

PerceptIn's autonomous driving technology

PerceptIn is a computer vision technology startup founded in Silicon Valley in 2016. Currently, we have a development base in Shenzhen, China, and provide autonomous driving solutions for robots and low-speed vehicles.

PerceptIn's technology sets GPS routes on a pre-made digital map. General GPS used in car navigation and other devices has an error of several centimeters, but PerceptIn's technology can reduce the error to a few centimeters by using correction information from fixed base stations installed in the area. . In addition, the computer vision module realizes accurate self-position estimation and object recognition through deep learning using a proprietary technology (sensor fusion) that fuses GPS information, three-dimensional angular velocity and acceleration information from the IMU, and approximately 360-degree image information. To do.

PerceptIn specializes in autonomous driving technology based on computer vision and sensor fusion such as GPS and IMU, and provides cost-effective solutions that are optimal for low-speed electric vehicles (LSEV).

At the end

While improving the issues that became clear based on the results of this social experiment, we will not only participate in the demonstration experiment after January 2021, but also continue to work toward the social implementation of autonomous driving services. . Thank you in the future.

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or concerns regarding autonomous driving.