Macnica (hereinafter referred to as Macnica) is a total service/solution provider in semiconductors, networks, cybersecurity, and AI/IoT (Head office location: Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture, President: Kazumasa Hara, capital: 11,194 million yen) PerceptIn Japan LLC (hereinafter referred to as Perceptin, head office location: Hong Kong, president: Shaoshan Liu) and Kotoba Design Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Kotoba Design, head office location: Shibuya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, President: Toshiaki Furuya, capital: 100 million yen) 90 million yen), we will conduct a social experiment of "voice-based micro robot taxi calling" at the "Heijo Palace Ruins Historical Park Smart Challenge."

This “Heijo Palace Site Historical Park Smart Challenge (Heijo Palace Site PSC)” started in 2019 at the Heijo Palace Site Historical Park (Nara City, Nara Prefecture) as a measure of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. Based on the results of this social experiment, we will work on the social implementation of micro-robot taxis in urban development in Nara and other parts of Japan, aiming for the enhancement of park services and the practical application of autonomous driving.

At last year's Heijo Palace Site Historical Park Smart Challenge, Macnica and Perceptin conducted a demonstration experiment of autonomous driving mobility to promote visitor mobility, verify the attraction's ability to attract visitors, and identify operational and technical issues for providing commercial services. As a result, while great expectations for social implementation were confirmed, several issues were also revealed. One of these issues was that although there is a great need for mobility services that can be used on demand, rather than operating on a route based on a timetable like a route bus, it is difficult for elderly people, who are the main target of micro robot taxi services, to call a service using a smartphone app. Therefore, we have developed a system that allows anyone to easily call a service through natural conversation with Kotoba Design's dialogue agent and will conduct a social experiment.

how the call works

■Overview of the social experiment
Virtual spots such as hospitals, supermarkets, and stations will be set up in Suzakumon Hiroba (Suzaku Avenue) of the Heijo Palace Historical Park, and conversation terminals will be installed. By having a conversation with the conversation terminal as shown in the figure below, a micro robot taxi (macniCAR-01 ^*1) will automatically pick you up. After the person called gets into the car and authenticates on the touch panel inside the car, the car will automatically drive to the designated destination.

image of dialogue

◇ Schedule: January 28, 2021 (Thursday) to January 31, 2021 (Sunday) total of 4 days
◇Time: 10:00-15:00 May be canceled in case of rain
◇Traveling route: Suzakumon Hiroba on the site of Heijo Palace near Omiya-dori
◇ Autonomous vehicle: autonomous driving-01, a two-seater ultra-compact mobility vehicle
(Since the safety driver will ride with you, you will be alone in the test drive.)
◇ Implementation details and verification:
・ Experience value of calling in conversation (questionnaire)
・Value of riding experience of self-driving car including pick-up automatically (questionnaire)
・Accuracy of dialog agent recognition

* You can experience “calling by conversation” and “test drive of an autonomous driving car” on a first-come, first-served basis.
* We will take sufficient measures against the COVID-19 such as temperature measurement of the door driver and test car, and alcohol disinfection before boarding.
*Please cooperate with wearing a mask when visiting.

For this social experiment, Macnica will provide the autonomous driving experimental vehicle "macniCAR-01" and will be responsible for planning and managing operations using the vehicle, while Perceptin will provide autonomous driving system and Kotoba Design will provide the reservation system, which allows users to call a vehicle and travel to their destination by talking to an AI conversation terminal using a robot. In addition, through this experiment, Macnica will verify operational and technical issues in autonomous driving, and will work with the relevant parties to consider the optimal solution service model for this region in order to commercialize autonomous driving.

In conducting this demonstration experiment, Sompo Japan Insurance Co., Ltd. conducted a risk assessment of the autonomous driving demonstration experiment. Sompo Japan Insurance Inc. is promoting the commercialization of “Level IV Discovery,” an insurtech solution that supports the safety aspects of an autonomous driving society, with the aim of further popularizing autonomous driving. Level IV Discovery dedicated site: https://level4-discovery.org/

*1: Autonomous vehicle "macniCAR-01"
The macniCAR-01 used in this demonstration experiment is based on the Tajima EV Tajima Jian, which has received certification ^*2 for ultra-compact mobility, and is equipped with Perceptine's DragonFly automated driving system. It will be used as a autonomous driving demonstration vehicle.

*2: Ultra compact mobility certification system (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism)
With regard to ultra-compact mobility that is mainly used for short-distance transportation as a convenient means of transportation in the region, safety standards for road transportation vehicles (1951 Ministry of Transport Ordinance No. 67 No.) (hereinafter referred to as “safety standards”) Utilizing the deregulation certification system based on Article 55, Paragraph 1, 1) do not drive on expressways, 2) measures to ensure safe and smooth traffic By imposing certain conditions on size, performance, etc., on the condition that the vehicle should be operated in a place where It is a system that makes it possible to

*Company names and product names mentioned in this text are trademarks or registered trademarks of Macnica and each company.
*The information published in the news release (including product price, specifications, etc.) is current as of the date of announcement. Please note that the information may be subject to change without prior notice.

＜本製品に関するお問い合わせ先＞
株式会社マクニカ　モビリティソリューション事業部
MAIL ：auto-solution@macnica.co.jp

PerceptIn Limited is a deep tech startup founded in Silicon Valley, USA in 2016, providing very affordable autonomous driving solutions for robots and slow-moving vehicles. On August 8, 2019, we established PerceptIn Japan LLC, a Japanese corporation, and are working to commercialize a robot taxi service using autonomous driving LSEV.
Please see the website (https://www.perceptin.io/jpn) for details.

At Kotoba Design, we aim to create a world where creators around the world can freely develop content using AI as a dialogue interface, and to enable humans to live a richer life through dialogue interfaces. I am developing.

Since its establishment in 1972, Macnica has provided cutting-edge semiconductors, electronic devices, networks, and cybersecurity products with added technological value. In recent years, we have been developing new businesses in fields such as AI/IoT, autonomous driving, and robots, based on our traditional strengths of global cutting-edge technology sourcing and technology planning capabilities. Going forward, under the slogan "Co.Tomorrowing," we will connect cutting-edge technology and Macnica 's intelligence to provide unique services and solutions, creating social value and contributing to the development of future society. . the Company company is headquartered in Yokohama and operates a global business with 84 locations in 24 countries around the world.
For details, visit the website (https://www.macnica.co.jp)Please refer to the.

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株式会社マクニカ　　http://www.macnica.co.jp
経営企画部　広報企画課　宮原　e-Mail：macpr@macnica.co.jp
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