Japanese truck-makers launch L4 autonomous truck trials

The major truck manufacturers in Japan, including UD Trucks, Mitsubishi Fuso, Isuzu Motors, and Hino Motors, declared that they have started testing Level-4 autonomous heavy-duty trucks on the Shin-Tomei Expressway.

The Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Tourism (MLIT) of Japan are the project’s sponsors. In 2021 METI, first hired the truck manufacturers and other businesses to create and implement a “demonstration experiment” of advanced Level-4 autonomous driving technologies on public highways using high-performance, heavy-duty trucks.

Mizuho Research & Technologies Ltd., Nippon Koei Company Ltd., Advanced Smart Mobility Company Ltd., and Toyota Tsusho Corporation are among the other businesses working on the project.

The goal of the project, which spans from 2021 to 2025, is to demonstrate autonomous trucking between relay locations. It will validate the autonomous driving process, from vehicle departure at a service area, merging and changing lanes on the main highways, to parking at the destination.