Fukuoka Smart East

Fukuoka City and the Fukuoka Directive Council held an event where local residents could see advanced technologies as part of the "Fukuoka Smart East" initiative. Delivery robot outline: A small package carrier that travels automatically, can avoid people and obstacles, and travel safely along narrow passages. It can also track leading people, such as delivery workers. If this vehicle is put into practical use, it will be possible to deliver packages on a narrow aisle or a busy street without relying on trucks and others, and it will also be possible for elderly people and children who have difficulty carrying heavy packages. We expect that it is also useful for parents with children in their arms. Building the Future of Fukuoka To succeed, the project needs contributions from local community members, field experts, and those who are passionate about cutting-edge technology that will solve social issues. If you have any ideas or suggestions for the Fukuoka Smart East initiative, please don’t hesitate to contact us at this address：SmartEAST.HUPB@city.fukuoka.lg.jp

As part of the Fukuoka Smart East initiative, Fukuoka City and the Fukuoka Directive Council held an event in which people in the community could see advanced technology. Outline of the PoC: The drone takes off automatically from the delivery robot that carries on its top and lands on the designated spot and releases the package. In the urban area, various radio waves fly around, but in that situation, we verified whether it was possible to take off and land safely. Building the Future of Fukuoka To succeed, the project needs contributions from local community members, field experts, and those who are passionate about cutting-edge technology that will solve social issues. If you have any ideas or suggestions for the Fukuoka Smart East initiative, please don’t hesitate to contact us at this address：SmartEAST.HUPB@city.fukuoka.lg.jp

As part of the Fukuoka Smart East initiative, Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Directive Council, and other organizations conducted a demonstration experiment to show this advanced technology to the community. Demonstration Summary: The demonstration began with an imaginary disaster scenario that required residents to evacuate. Both foreign and local residents used an automatic translation tool called Kotozna Chat on their smartphones to receive and send communications about the evacuation. Kotozna Chat is the first translation tool in Japan that connects with SNS platforms. Participants at the Hakozaki Community Center were sent messages about the disaster and evacuation orders in Japanese. There were 31 non-native Japanese speaking participants from 16 countries who each received the evacuation message in their native language. They evacuated to a public hall that was the designated shelter area. Then, participants were able to use the automatic translation chat tool to communicate with one another about exchanging evacuation supplies. Building the Future of Fukuoka To succeed, the project needs contributions from local community members, field experts, and those who are passionate about cutting-edge technology that will solve social issues. If you have any ideas or suggestions for the Fukuoka Smart East initiative, please don’t hesitate to contact us at this address：SmartEAST.HUPB@city.fukuoka.lg.jp

Fukuoka City and the Fukuoka Directive Council, etc. held an event where local residents could see advanced technologies as part of the "Fukuoka Smart East" initiative. During the four-day public test our team held in November 2019, 230 people were able to ride on an autonomous bus free of charge. We held demonstration rides during the day and on public roads around a loop that began and ended at Matsushima Elementary School. For the demonstration, the bus was operated with a driver specially trained in autonomous buses sitting in the driver’s seat. The bus automatically performed many standard driving operations, such as turning the steering wheel. At the same time, the driver checked to ensure that everything was working correctly and continually monitored for safety. Once members of the public had the chance to ride the autonomous bus, they were given a survey to complete. While the future logistic and economic benefits of driverless buses are important, we are also very interested in how the public feels about using this technology. We were pleased to see that 97% of those surveyed felt safe or neutral while riding the bus, and 100% of those who responded would definitely use or consider using it in the future if it becomes an option. A full 100% of respondents reported that they look forward to self-driving technology. As we consider future applications for autonomous buses, it is helpful to know that our residents are interested in utilizing them.

Fukuoka City and Fukuoka Directive Council, etc. held an event where local residents could see advanced technologies as part of the "Fukuoka Smart East" initiative. PerceptIn is a startup founded in Silicon Valley and headquartered in Hong Kong. Their team was interested in introducing a small two-seater self-driving car developed in-house to Japan, but they had difficulty finding a demonstration field where they could test the car. As they wanted to verify Japanese traffic rules, road signs, and traffic lights, they needed to find a place to try it out. As part of the Consortium Secretariat support for Fukuoka Smart East PoC program, PerceptIn was able to use Kaizuka Park, which has traffic running through it and could conduct demonstration experiments in the form of a test drive event. They received support in securing the testing field, coordinating with park managers, and police. This time’s test ride was Japan's first two-seater LSEV (Low-Speed Electric Vehicle), which is an advanced autonomous vehicle that uses epoch-making self-driving technology called “computer vision”. At the event, the staff boarded as a driver, and each participant boarded the car one by one to ensure maximum safety.　 To boost media attention, we helped them hold a test drive event that was featured on television and in newspapers.