"Verification of communication systems contributing to safe and efficient Level 4 autonomous driving" begins in Kochi City, Kochi Prefecture ~ Demonstration project to control autonomous driving vehicles when detecting emergency vehicles ~

NTT West Corporation Kochi Branch (Branch Manager: Shunsuke Aoki, hereinafter referred to as "NTT West Kochi Branch"), NTT Business Solutions Corporation (Representative Director and President: Hidenori Kinoue, hereinafter referred to as "NTT BS"), and Macnica (Representative Director and President: Kazumasa Kazumasa Hara, hereinafter referred to as "Macnica") have formed a consortium as demonstration organizations and have been selected for the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications' "Regional Digital Transformation Promotion Package Project (autonomous driving Level 4 Verification Type)" (managed by Mitsubishi Research Institute, Inc.). The demonstration will be conducted in Kochi City, Kochi Prefecture (Mayor: Ryugo Kuwana, hereinafter referred to as "Kochi City"), in collaboration with cooperating organizations ^{* 1} including Kochi City, Tosaden Transportation Co., Ltd., Kochi Red Cross Hospital, AEON Mall Kochi, Shikoku Railway Company, and Kochi Prefecture, to begin verification of communication systems and other technologies that contribute to safe and efficient Level 4 autonomous driving.

*1 Collaborating organizations: Local governments, corporations, etc. that are cooperating with this demonstration, providing support for various coordination tasks such as explaining the project to residents, and providing guidance to the consortium for the demonstration.

1. Background and purpose
This consortium has been selected for the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications' "Community DX Promotion Package Project (autonomous driving Level 4 Verification Type)" (managed by Mitsubishi Research Institute, Inc.) ^{* 2}. One of the challenges in achieving Level 4 autonomous driving autonomous driving vehicles when approaching emergency vehicles. The area where this demonstration will be conducted, 1 km north of JR Kochi Station, is adjacent to the Kochi Red Cross Hospital, a regional core hospital, and the Kita Fire Station, and the area is subject to heavy emergency vehicle traffic. Additionally, the large commercial facility AEON Mall Kochi is located nearby, and there are various transport participants, including route buses. The aim is to enable safe and smooth operation of autonomous driving vehicles even in such an environment.
As part of our efforts to maintain and continue the local public transportation network, we will combine the know-how we have cultivated in resolving local issues with the ICT technology of the NTT West Group and proceed with verification aimed at social implementation.

*2 Press release: Results of selection of demonstration organizations for verifying communication systems that contribute to safe and efficient Level 4 autonomous driving
　　　　　　　　　　https://www.soumu.go.jp/menu_news/s-news/01ryutsu06_02000431.html

2. Business overview
This demonstration will verify the mechanism for safely stopping and restarting when an emergency vehicle approaches, which is a technical challenge in operating autonomous driving buses.
Specifically, we will build a location detection system that captures the location and lane information of emergency vehicles, and modify the remote monitoring system and on-board system so that autonomous driving vehicles can stop and restart at safe locations. This will demonstrate that autonomous driving vehicles can stop and restart safely, just like other traffic participants, without impeding the passage of emergency vehicles, with the aim of ensuring a transportation network in which autonomous driving vehicles and emergency vehicles can coexist. We will also conduct verification using two different models of autonomous driving vehicles, with the aim of ensuring that the system we build can solve safety issues without being dependent on the manufacturer of autonomous driving vehicle.

・Project period: Within fiscal year 2025
・Demonstration period: [Preparatory operation] Mid-November to mid-December 2025
[General operation] Mid-December to late December 2025
・Location: JR Kochi Station to AEON Mall Kochi/Kochi Red Cross Hospital [One way: Approx. 1.1 km]
・Vehicle used: Navya Mobility EVO
: Tier IV minibus

Navya Mobility EVO
Test drive capacity: 9 people

Tier IV Minibus
Test drive capacity: 14 people

3. Roles of each party
(1) Kochi City
Providing routes for autonomous driving vehicles, etc.

(2) NTT West Japan
Demonstration operation management, progress management, overall management, etc.

(3) NTT BS
Design and construction of autonomous driving vehicle control systems (Minibus), design and construction of autonomous driving vehicle detection systems,
Planning and coordination of field verification, acquiring data necessary for driving, setup, operation of demonstration test vehicles, etc.

(4) Macnica
Provision of autonomous driving electric buses and remote operation management systems
autonomous driving EV bus engineering and support, operation system construction, etc.

4. Future developments
In the future, we will establish a system for safely stopping and restarting the vehicle when an emergency vehicle approaches, and this demonstration experiment will
It is possible for autonomous driving vehicles to operate in areas where a large number of emergency vehicles are expected to operate, such as on routes.
This will expand the areas in which autonomous driving vehicles can operate.
The period of preparatory operation and general operation for this demonstration, as well as the application method for riding during general operation, will be announced once it has been determined.
A news release will be issued at a later date.