AUTONEWS

Plus and TIER IV partner to deploy driverless trucks in Japan

Plus(http://www.plus.ai/), a globally-focused leader in AI-based autonomous trucking software, and TIER IV, a key force behind the world’s first open-source software for autonomous driving, today announced a strategic partnership to accelerate the development and deployment of advanced autonomous driving solutions, Autonomy 2.0, in Japan, starting with Level 4 autonomous trucks on Japan’s expressways. The collaboration supports a Japanese government-led initiative to expedite the development of autonomous driving technologies, aimed at addressing the country’s critical driver shortage.

As part of the collaboration, Plus and TIER IV will provide a customized autonomous driving software solution for the Japan market by integrating Plus’s end-to-end virtual driver AI model with TIER IV’s platform based on Autoware*, open-source software for autonomous driving championed by TIER IV.

The trials will occur on the Shin-Tomei Expressway.

TIER IV’s CEO Shinpei Kato said: “We’ve always believed that co-creation with our partners is the fastest way to bring the best autonomous driving systems to the world. Plus is a global autonomous driving software company that’s already powering the Level 4 autonomous trucks of leading truck makers in the United States and Europe like TRATON GROUP’s Scania, MAN and International, Iveco Group, as well as Hyundai. This makes Plus the ideal partner to accelerate deployment of Autonomy 2.0-based autonomous driving technology in Japan, starting with autonomous trucks.”

“Driverless trucks are a necessary solution to address Japan’s acute truck driver shortage and aging population,” said David Liu, CEO and Co-Founder of Plus. “We are excited to leverage our AV2.0 Generative AI-based autonomous driving technology and expertise in deploying autonomous trucks with global truck makers to work with TIER IV to accelerate the rollout of driverless trucks in Japan.”

A study by the Nomura Research Institute projected a 36% shortfall in truck drivers in Japan by 2030. To address this challenge, Plus and TIER IV are joining forces, leveraging TIER IV’s experience and proven track record in the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) project to develop autonomous trucks based on vehicles from Japanese vehicle manufacturers. Through the collaboration, the companies will pave the way for more innovative and efficient freight transport for the Japanese market.

Plus and TIER IV have partnered with Japan's METI to accelerate deployment of autonomous driving solutions, with Level 4 autonomous trucks on Japan’s expressways. Plus

METI has a long history of supporting the deployment of nascent technology. A truck platooning project culminating in 2018 showed tractor-trailers from several Japanese truck makers in platooning trials led by METI and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Tourism (MLIT). In the trials, the system jointly developed by the four companies was fitted to general purpose trucks platooning on expressways. The trials tested the technical and open road traffic compatibility of the system.

Driver Shortages Demand Action...Japan is seeing driver shortages in both passenger and freight transport. As the population ages, the need for more passenger transport in becoming acute. In parallel, there are concerns regarding a robust supply-chain as drivers are in short supply; this will be exerbated going forward due to the country’s low birth rate.

In response, the Japanese government has created programs to fund Level 4 autonomous truck development and deployment. As an autonomous vehicle pioneer in Japan that already has partnerships with key Japanese trucking OEMs Mitsubishi Fuso (owned by Daimler) and Isuzu, Tier IV is well placed to partner with the METI program.

This new initiative puts Plus in a unique position, being the first American autonomous trucking tech company to have a broad global footprint and partners to deploy not just in the U.S. but also Europe and now Japan. Plus notes that their global footprint also helps accelerate tech development to build a generalizable virtual driver due to the expansive and broad driving conditions it has been exposed to and trained to handle.

Disclosure: Richard Bishop is an Advisor to and/or an equity holder in the following companies mentioned in this article: Plus.