Background to "Next Generation Mobility DAY 2024"

Macnica and the NTT West Group have the ability to provide community-based support and know-how in autonomous driving technology in the field of autonomous driving, and the two companies' strengths have complemented each other. By working together to provide solutions, they are supporting the social implementation of autonomous driving in local governments.

In this context, Macnica signed the "Shiga Prefecture autonomous driving Social Implementation Promotion Project Consortium Agreement" and applied for the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism's "Regional Public Transportation Assurance, Maintenance and Improvement Project Subsidy" and was notified of its acceptance. Four companies, including Shiga Prefecture, NTT West Group, and NTT Business Solutions, have built a cooperative relationship in the field of autonomous driving, and are working to identify areas and needs in Shiga Prefecture that are suitable for autonomous driving technology and to verify future possibilities.

Macnica and the NTT West Group are actively working together to advance the evolution of mobility in the region, leveraging their strengths in being able to provide one-stop services, from planning and proposing autonomous driving EV buses to future Level 4 operation. In order to widely publicize and promote understanding of these efforts, they have decided to hold a joint event, "Next Generation Mobility DAY 2024," which can be attended both in person and online.

The event featured a variety of programs, including keynote speeches, panel discussions, a test drive of an autonomous driving EV bus (*), and a demonstration exhibition of a remote monitoring system (*). The event provided everyone involved in urban development with an opportunity to solve problems and revitalize the community through the use of next-generation mobility.
(※Only for real venues)

Media Session: "Macnica 's Smart Mobility Business" & "NTT West Group's autonomous driving EV Bus Business" Press Briefing

Macnica and the NTT West Group have signed an agreement to invest in Navya Mobility SAS (hereinafter referred to as Navya), which develops autonomous driving software and implements and operates vehicles. They emphasized that they will further accelerate the implementation of autonomous driving services in society and contribute to solving social issues in local governments.

Hajime Miyazaki, Value Design Department, NTT Business Solutions Corporation

Macnica Smart City & Mobility Business Division, Tsuyoshi Kachi

The two companies will work together to speed up the development of autonomous driving vehicles and systems at Navya. In addition, they will leverage the supply chain of the NTT West Group to strengthen their system for providing total autonomous driving systems. They also announced a roadmap for expanding autonomous driving EV buses to local governments nationwide and promoting their introduction in private companies by establishing a seamless scheme tailored to customer needs.

"Opening Remarks and Opening Session"

- Top management explains initiatives and vision to date -

Speaker: Ryota Kitamura Representative Director and President Nippon Telegraph and Telephone West Corporation
Speaker: Macnica Representative Director and President Kazumasa Hara

Ryota Kitamura, NTT West Japan

Macnica Kazumasa Hara

​NTT West Group, a pioneer in smart cities, and Macnica, a global leader in autonomous driving electric buses, explained their strategic partnership in the field of autonomous driving.

Kitamura explained that the two companies have been developing a strategic partnership in the field of autonomous driving since August​ ​2023, and said, "By bringing together the areas of expertise of both companies, we have taken a step toward solving problems.We will provide one-stop services toward realizing smart cities."​

Hara explained that collaboration with the NTT West Group has resulted in a notable expansion of autonomous driving areas in the western Japan area, and stated his determination, "We will work hand in hand with the NTT West Group in the smart mobility field to ensure that cutting-edge mobility technology becomes available to everyone."​

"Initiatives toward full-scale implementation of autonomous driving"

- Current status and issues of autonomous driving in Japan -

Speaker: Kengo Iebe, Director of the autonomous driving Strategy Office, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism

Iebe explained how far autonomous driving has progressed, and the current situation and issues in Japan. Based on examples from overseas, he said, "We can expect safety to improve by introducing autonomous driving." For example, he introduced data showing that Waymo, a autonomous driving car development company under Alphabet, has reduced injury accidents by 89 %. He explained that the accident rate for autonomous driving vehicles is significantly lower than for vehicles driven by humans.

He also touched on future initiatives, such as formulating legal requirements for the full-scale implementation of Level 4 autonomous driving and providing support to various autonomous driving businesses.

"Initiatives and town development towards the introduction of autonomous driving in Tobetsu Town, Hokkaido"

~Tobetsu Town's strategy to tackle the town's declining birthrate, aging population, and population decline with autonomous driving ~

Speaker: Mr. Yutaka Taruki, Director of the Planning Department, Tobetsu Town, Hokkaido

Tobetsu Town, located in the "Sapporo area" in the center of Hokkaido, is promoting the "creation of a new town face" around the new station that was built together with local companies. As part of this, they are working on introducing autonomous driving.

Taruki explained the current situation, saying, "We aim to create a touring space where people can experience cutting-edge technology in a natural environment, and we are actively working to attract people and businesses." He also introduced the background to the introduction of autonomous driving and the outlook for future urban development.

"The role of autonomous driving in urban development"

~ Discussion format to discuss the future and outlook for autonomous driving ~

Speaker: Yusuke Kanda, Professor, Environmental and Urban Engineering, Kure National College of Technology
Speakers: NTT Hajime Miyazaki, Value Design Department, Business Solutions Co., Ltd.
Speaker: Takeshi Kachi, Smart City & Mobility Business Division Macnica

Kanda explained, "Mobility has the following effects: 1) value as a means of transportation to transport people, 2) the effect of encouraging people to go out and circulating the local economy, 3) the effect of increasing the value of the local area, and 4) the effect of being a catalyst for innovation and new business. He then went on to talk about the benefits of introducing autonomous driving, saying, "There is a tendency to focus only on the value as a simple means of transportation, as in 1), but the other effects, 2) to 4), bring much greater value and effects."​

Mr. Miyazaki introduced an initiative that analyzed local transportation issues. He conducted a survey of local residents and passengers on each of the 16 bus routes in Maniwa City, Okayama Prefecture, and explained that residents are dependent on cars, and that public transportation buses are in the red and tend to shrink due to reduced service and route changes. He said, "It is important to secure revenue by combining it with shopping and other services, and we will promote the provision of technology to achieve this."​

Kachi introduced the operational status of the autonomous driving EV buses that the company operates on a regular basis and in trial runs across the country, and explained, "We will take into consideration the different environments and challenges of each region, and promote efforts that will lead to the establishment of next-generation regional transportation tailored to each location and to increased attractiveness of the town."​

In the discussion, the three parties reaffirmed their intention to share concrete ideas based on the needs of each region and success stories from around the country when considering the introduction of autonomous driving. They deepened the discussion on how to realize regular service of autonomous driving EV buses nationwide.

"NTT Group's autonomous driving Assistance Service: Background to Entry and Future Aims"

-NTT and May Mobility 's strategic initiatives -

Speaker: Masaharu Nagamiya, Director, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation

As a solution to the labor shortage that will become more serious due to the 2024 problem in logistics, he introduced an initiative with May Mobility, a US autonomous driving technology company that has acquired exclusive sales rights in Japan. Nagamiya continued, "NTT Group will provide the mechanisms for the popularization of autonomous driving services," including vehicles, autonomous driving systems, communication networks, and remote monitoring.

He also spoke about his outlook for the future, saying, "Using our ability to solve problems that are close to the community, we will carry out a wide range of initiatives, not only addressing the transportation issues facing the region, but also in areas such as the economy, health, and welfare."​

autonomous driving EV bus test drive event

At the physical venue, QUINTBRIDGE, a test drive event was held for visitors of the autonomous driving electric bus "EVO."

A course was prepared for the vehicle to travel automatically at 5km/h in the car park adjacent to the venue (one lap is approximately 400m), and test drives were conducted to demonstrate boarding and disembarking at bus stops, as well as to recreate a situation in which the vehicle had to come to a sudden halt due to a pedestrian suddenly jumping out in front of the vehicle.

The car is equipped with a "Generative AI Avatar Concierge," a conversational concierge service using generative AI to improve the riding experience. In addition to providing ride directions, the service can also hold everyday conversations, and can be customized to store unique information on a local server and use it to send out information about local events, etc.

A large monitor was installed in the QUINTBRIDGE venue, displaying the real-time operation management screen of the autonomous driving EV bus by the remote monitoring system "everfleet." Visitors could check the status of the interior of the vehicle while it was moving and the position of the vehicle on the monitor.

Other exhibits and introductions at the venue included NTT Business Solutions' city data visualization tool "Minna no Machi AI," Panasonic Connect's "predictive information acquisition technology for roadside cameras," and Macnica 's original digital map creation support service "Digital Map."​

Macnica and the NTT West Group have been selected for more than 10 projects under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism's "Subsidy for Regional Public Transportation Assurance, Maintenance and Improvement Project (autonomous driving Social Implementation Promotion Project)" for fiscal 2024. Macnica will continue to leverage its technological capabilities and the NTT West Group's community-based consulting and social implementation capabilities to work toward establishing next-generation regional transportation systems.

In addition, we were able to widely publicize the current status and potential of autonomous driving services through "Next Generation Mobility DAY 2024." We will continue to actively hold such events in order to further promote understanding of autonomous driving and contribute to creating a sustainable local community.

Comments from customers who attended Next Generation Mobility Day 2024

At this event, we conducted a survey of attendees (including online participants). Most of the attendees answered that they were "satisfied" or "very satisfied" with the content of the lecture.

Among these, many people commented that the panel discussion on initiatives being implemented by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism and Tobetsu Town in Hokkaido was a very meaningful session.

Other favorable comments included, "I was able to learn about the cutting-edge efforts being carried out by Macnica and NTT West Japan across the country," and "I was able to actually test drive an autonomous driving EV bus, which expanded my imagination about its introduction." Furthermore, there were several positive comments based on the assumption of introduction, such as, "I would like to consider conducting a demonstration experiment" and "I would like to discuss the specifics."​

On the other hand, we received opinions such as "We should promote the fact that the number of accidents has decreased more," and requests such as "There are still hurdles to overcome before it can be introduced," "I hope it can be put into practical use soon," and "I hope a similar event will be held in the Kanto region as well." We take these requests seriously and will continue to work to make this a meaningful event.

Inquiry

Macnica supports the practical application of autonomous driving in various regions and facilities. If you have any questions or concerns regarding autonomous driving, please feel free to contact us below.