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A fleet of Taxis without drivers will go for a road test soon

By on October 5, 2015

The thought of taking a taxi driven by robots makes me cringe but it appears that’s what we will be seeing very soon as robot-obsessed Japan tests its driverless cars out on the streets. Last month, a robot-manned hotel has also started in Nagasaki, an obvious sign that Japan’s robotic technology is changing the name of the game in full throttle.

robottaxi

In partnership with the Japanese government, Robot Taxi will engage 50 people as attendants (for safety) in a trial test in some of the main streets in the Kanagawa prefecture covering 3 kilometers.

In a media gathering last week, Governor Kuroiwa of the Kanagawa prefecture shares his excitement of the trial scheme with the press.

If all goes well, the self-driving technology is expected to charge a lot less than a regular taxi driven by humans. With just a tap on a smartphone, the driverless taxi will be at your beck and call in just minutes using an advanced sensor technology that tracks your GPS location. Robot Taxi is aimed at helping serve the needs and improve the lives of Japan’s greying population in going about their daily chores like shopping and commuting to and from hospitals.

While one of Robot Taxi’s missions is to improve the lives of the people by lessening the chance of traffic accidents caused by fatigued drivers, it could also strip people of jobs in the future.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGEomEOPVKc

About Ted Tanaka