Aiming to realize an attractive downtown area on Yokkaichi Chuo-dori, the fifth autonomous driving EV bus and the Yokkaichi version of MaaS demonstration experiment will be conducted simultaneously this year

Macnica (headquarters: Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture; Representative Director and President Representative Director and President Kazumasa Hara Kazumasa; hereinafter referred to as Macnica), Mie Kotsu Co., Ltd. (headquarters: Tsu City, Mie Prefecture; Representative Director and President: Tabata Hideaki; hereinafter referred to as Mie Kotsu), SANGI Railway Co., Ltd. (headquarters: Yokkaichi City, Mie Prefecture; President and CEO: Watanabe Kazuharu; hereinafter referred to as Sangi Railway), and CTY Corporation (headquarters: Yokkaichi City, Mie Prefecture; Representative Director and President: Watanabe Kazutaka; hereinafter referred to as CTY) will be conducting a demonstration experiment (hereinafter referred to as the Demonstration Experiment) using an autonomous driving EV bus with the aim of creating an attractive downtown area on Chuo-dori Street in Yokkaichi City, Mie Prefecture. This is cooperation with the "autonomous driving Introduction Study Group ^{* 1}", which is made up of stakeholders from Yokkaichi city, transportation companies, economic organizations, etc., and the "Yokkaichi Smart Region Core Promotion Council ^{* 2}", which was launched in 2021, in demonstrating its cooperation in experiments aimed at creating a smart city. This is the fifth demonstration experiment of an autonomous driving EV bus, and as a new route, it will travel around Chuo-dori on the west side of Kintetsu Yokkaichi Station, as well as the Miyako Hotel and Municipal Museum, and will verify the improvement of visitor mobility and the creation of a lively atmosphere around Chuo-dori through the use of personal mobility and the Yokkaichi version of MaaS demonstration experiment.

Macnica, Mie Kotsu, and Sangi Railway will participate in this council, and as the representative company of the Mobility Working Group, Macnica will work through demonstration experiments to introduce next-generation mobility, including autonomous driving, and create MaaS businesses.

Leveraging its track record of past demonstration experiments related to autonomous driving transportation services, Macnica will be conducting everything from preparations to running the demonstration experiment and verifying the effectiveness of an autonomous driving EV bus traveling around Yokkaichi Chuo Dori. In this demonstration experiment, one vehicle each will be operated: Navya Mobility's "ARMA ^*3," an autonomous driving EV bus with no steering wheel, accelerator or brakes, and the new next-generation "EVO ^*4." In addition, semi-transparent displays will be installed inside the two vehicles, and an interactive concierge using generative AI will be installed to provide in-car guidance and a dialogue function with passengers, thereby verifying the value of mobility with an awareness of social implementation.

Mie Kotsu and Sangi Railway will provide remote monitors for the autonomous driving EV buses for remote operation monitoring. A remote monitoring center will be set up within Humanitec Plaza to conduct verification tests with a view to the future implementation of autonomous driving in society. Driving data will be linked to Macnica 's remote monitoring system "everfleet ^*5", and the status of the autonomous driving EV buses will be checked in real time, allowing one remote monitor to manage multiple vehicles simultaneously in the future, aiming to resolve social issues such as labor shortages. In addition, CTY will continue to verify communication quality with 4G by conducting remote monitoring using the company's local 5G in the communication infrastructure, as it did last year.

Yokkaichi City has been selected for the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism's Smart City Implementation Support Project and is working to build a Yokkaichi version of MaaS. By overlaying the locations of autonomous driving EV buses and Mie Kotsu buses and personal mobility test drive venues on a digital map, we will encourage the use of mobility, improve the mobility of visitors around Chuo Dori, and create a lively atmosphere. This year, we will also conduct a Yokkaichi version of MaaS demonstration experiment at the same time as autonomous driving demonstration experiment.

autonomous driving electric buses ARMA and EVO

Conversational concierge using generative AI

[Outline of this demonstration experiment]
■Schedule: November 6th (Wed) - November 27th (Wed) 2024 *Excluding Mondays
■Operating hours: 10:00-17:00 (12 flights per day)
■Vehicles: autonomous driving EV buses ARMA and EVO (2 units in operation)
■ Route: Round trip along Chuo Dori Street on the west side of Kintetsu Yokkaichi Station and a circular route around Miyako Hotel and the City Museum (approximately 2km one way)
■How to board: All seats are reserved in advance on weekends, but some seats are reserved in advance on weekdays and there are free boarding slots on the day
* Advance reservations can be made via the dedicated website or the CTY Connect app.

*1: autonomous driving Introduction Review Committee
A conference established with the aim of introducing autonomous driving in Yokkaichi City. The first conference was held in July 2019, and a total of 10 conferences have been held to date. The conference is also working with the Yokkaichi Smart Region Core Promotion Council to consider introducing autonomous driving to create a smart city.

*2: Yokkaichi Smart Region Core Promotion Council
The council was established in 2021 with the aim of bringing together the public, private and academic sectors to work together and cooperate to solve various issues facing local communities, utilizing advanced technologies such as ICT, including IoT and AI, to enhance the functionality and appeal of cities and create vibrant cities (smart cities).

*3: autonomous driving EV bus ARMA (manufactured by Navya Mobility)
ARMA is an autonomous driving shuttle bus equipped with an autonomous driving system. It is an EV (electric vehicle) that can run autonomously for about 9 hours (100 km) on a single charge.

Overall length: 4,750mm
Height: 2,650mm
Overall width: 2,110mm
Weight: 2,400 kg
Total vehicle weight: 3,450kg
Number of passengers: Maximum 6
Power source: Electric motor
Maximum speed: 18km/h (average speed during operation: 15km/h)
autonomous driving level: Level 3 compatible
* Only when driving environment conditions are met
*This demonstration experiment will operate at Level 2.
Other: In the event of an emergency, an on-board operator will manually intervene

*4: autonomous driving EV bus EVO (manufactured by Navya Mobility)
EVO is an autonomous driving shuttle bus equipped with an autonomous driving system. It is an EV (electric vehicle) and can run autonomously for about 9 hours (100km) on a single charge.

Overall length: 4,780mm
Height: 2,670mm
Overall width: 2,100mm
Weight: 2,690 kg
Total vehicle weight: 3,350kg
Number of passengers: Maximum 6
Power source: Electric motor
Maximum speed: 18km/h (average speed during operation: 15km/h)
autonomous driving level: Level 4 compatible
* Only when driving environment conditions are met
*This demonstration experiment will operate at Level 2.
Other: In the event of an emergency, an on-board operator will manually intervene

*5: Everfleet
In order to put autonomous driving into practical use, it is necessary to monitor passengers in the vehicle and the situation around the vehicle from a remote location. everfleet integrates vehicle data such as vehicle speed, steering, and battery level in addition to the vehicle's location information and camera footage inside and outside the vehicle, and can also link with external data in coordination with traffic infrastructure such as traffic lights. This makes it possible to grasp the operating status in real time from a remote location and operate autonomous driving mobility safely and securely. Furthermore, since it is possible to simultaneously manage a wide variety of mobility in multiple regions and the system can automatically detect and notify abnormalities during operation, a single remote monitor can efficiently manage the operation of autonomous driving mobility, thereby reducing the number of operations and contributing to improving transportation profitability.

*Product names mentioned in the text are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.
*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.

<Contact information regarding this demonstration experiment>
Macnica Smart City & Mobility Division
TEL: 045-470-9118
MAIL: auto-solution@macnica.co.jp