Fukuoka Smart East
Fukuoka City has played a key role as gateway to Japan for the rest of Asia for more than 2,000 years. Its close proximity to the continent gives Fukuoka a geographical advantage as a business location since it is very easy to make one-day trips to major cities such as Taipei, Shanghai and Seoul, etc.
Being endowed with an abundance of young talent, convenient access to its center via compactly connected urban functions such as its port and airport, reasonable business cost, and the lower price and property rent levels, Fukuoka has a number of competitive advantages over other Japanese cities.
Through its designation as a “National Strategic Special Zone for Global Startups and Job Creation” in 2014, Fukuoka has been hard at work to transform itself into the world’s most startup-friendly city. Fukuoka is a city with pioneering spirit, striving to find solutions for social issues by utilizing deregulation measures under the special zone scheme.
Fukuoka Smart East is revolutionary project to create a model city for the future. The project will overcome urban and social development challenges such as Japan's aging population and declining birthrate, while continuing to develop sustainably by introducing cutting-edge technological innovations that create comfortable and high-quality lifestyles and urban spaces. As its first pioneering initiative, the project will begin with the urban redevelopment of Hakozaki.
First in Japan! Testing Small Two-Seater Self-Driving Car
Solution Description
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.