Nippon Koei Co., Ltd. (Head office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President: Hiroaki Araya; hereinafter "Nippon Koei") and Macnica (Head office: Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture; President: Kazumasa Hara; hereinafter "Macnica) will jointly conduct a demonstration experiment using an autonomous driving bus (hereinafter "the Demonstration Experiment") in Mibu Town, Tochigi Prefecture. This is part of the "Tochigi Prefecture ABC Project ^{* 1}," which aims to fully operate route buses equipped with autonomous driving system in fiscal year 2025, and will verify the feasibility of using an autonomous driving bus at "Mibu Roadside Station."

The “Tochigi Prefecture ABC Project” is an initiative to promote demonstration experiments of autonomous driving buses in multiple areas in the prefecture from 2020 to 2023. In this demonstration experiment, NAVYA's "ARMA ^{* 2}", which is an autonomous bus without a steering wheel, accelerator, or brake, will be autonomous driving at "Michi-no-Eki Mibu". In addition, remote monitoring will be implemented on a trial basis, and visitors will be informed of the operation status of the autonomous driving bus on a display installed in the information exchange corner in Mibu Highway Park.

Nippon Koei has been commissioned by the Tochigi Prefecture Department of Land Development, Transportation Policy Division to carry out a survey to investigate the feasibility of a autonomous driving autonomous driving service. For this demonstration experiment, Nippon Koei will utilize its track record in operating demonstration experiments related to autonomous transport services to operate an autonomous driving bus that will tour the Mibu Roadside Station in Mibu Town, Tochigi Prefecture, as well as carry out the preparations related to the operation and effectiveness verification.
Macnica will provide the operation of autonomous driving buses, the data acquisition and setup required for autonomous driving driving, and technical materials and acquired data. In addition, by linking the vehicle's driving data to Macnica 's remote monitoring system, Macnica Mobility Data Platform ^*3, it will be possible to check the autonomous driving bus's driving information in real time from a remote location. Furthermore, by utilizing the remote monitoring system, it will be possible in the future to manage multiple vehicles with one driver, thereby aiming to resolve the labor shortage, a social issue.

In addition, for this demonstration experiment, Fuyo General Lease Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Fuyo Lease) will provide the autonomous driving buses through the "autonomous driving Demonstration Experiment Support Service Program ^*4", a business partnership between Macnica and the Fuyo Lease Group, and Auto Technique Japan will be responsible for part of the maintenance of the autonomous driving vehicles.

[Outline of this demonstration experiment]
■ Schedule: Saturday, February 26, 2022 to Sunday, March 6, 2022 *No service on March 3 (Thursday) and March 4 (Friday)
■ Hours: 9:00 to 16:00 (about 10 flights a day)
■ autonomous driving vehicle: autonomous driving bus ARMA
■Riding route: Starting from Mibu Highway Park, a circular route (approximately 2.2 km) that passes through Wanpaku Park's Wonder Ship, Toy Museum, Panapana no Machi, etc.

■Service schedule: Operates during the times shown in the table below.
■Participation method: To participate in the experiment, please check the Tochigi Prefecture ABC Project website.
< http://abc-project.tochigi.jp/jissho.html >

*We will take sufficient measures against the COVID-19 such as measuring the temperature of the driver and the test car, and disinfecting the car with alcohol before boarding.
*Please cooperate with wearing a mask when visiting.

*1: Tochigi Prefecture ABC Project
The name of the project is an acronym for Challenge, which is aimed at full-scale operation of route buses that have introduced an autonomous autonomous driving system (Autonomous).
Tochigi Prefecture ABC Project HP: http://abc-project.tochigi.jp/index.html

*2: Self-autonomous driving bus ARMA (manufactured by French company NAVYA)
ARMA is an autonomous shuttle bus equipped with an autonomous driving autonomous driving system. It is an EV (electric vehicle) specification, and can run automatically for about 9 hours (100km) on a single charge.

Overall length: 4,750mm
Height: 2,650mm
Width: 2,110mm
Weight: 2,400kg
Gross vehicle weight: 3,450kg
Number of passengers: Up to 5 people (limited due to new coronavirus measures)
Power source: electric motor
Maximum speed: 18km/h (Average speed of about 10km/h during operation)
autonomous driving level: Equivalent to level 3 in parks, level 2 on public roads
Others: In case of emergency, the passenger's driver will intervene manually

*3: Macnica Mobility Data Platform (remote monitoring system)
By collecting information from sensors (GPS, cameras, etc.) attached to vehicles and CAN information (vehicle speed, RPM, steering angle, etc.) and storing the data in the cloud using a high-quality transmission method, one person can remotely monitor multiple vehicles and access the cloud to check the mobility status in real time. In addition, the accumulated data can be used to check past status, perform data analysis, and utilize AI.

*4: autonomous driving Demonstration Experiment Support Service Program (hereinafter referred to as the “Program”)
Macnica, Fuyo Lease, and Fuyo Auto Lease Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Fuyo Auto Lease") jointly established the program. Fuyo Auto Lease leverages its strengths in automobile asset management and vehicle leasing business base to purchase and own the NAVYA autonomous driving vehicle "ARMA" from Macnica, and provide it to Macnica as a demonstration vehicle for demonstration experiments. To do. Based on our knowledge of autonomous driving technology and our consulting experience, Macnica provides total support for demonstration experiments as a comprehensive point of contact for our customers, from demonstration experiment planning to autonomous driving implementation work and operations. Fuyo Lease will utilize its customer base of various local governments, transportation operators, etc. in its business to collaborate in customer relations to propose this service program. Please see the website for details.
https://www.macnica.co.jp/business/maas/news/2021/136501/

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*Information (including product prices, specifications, etc.) in the news release is current as of the date of the announcement. Please note that it is subject to change without prior notice.