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Dec 14, 2020
Products & Solutions / Press Release
Osaka, Japan –Panasonic Corporation starts a field test of a delivery service for residential areas by a compact, low-speed robot in Fujisawa Sustainable Smart Town in Fujisawa City, Kanagawa Prefecture. The first phase of the test involving a self-driving robot on public roads has already started in November and will last until the end of the year. The second phase, in which the robot provides a home delivery service to residents in the area, will take place from February 2021. By offering a new form of delivery service using robots that work closely with humans, the company aims to contribute to creating a vibrant community where people and mobility coexist.
While people’s lives have become more convenient with the growth of e-commerce and new home delivery services such as food delivery, there has been a serious shortage of home delivery staff to support such services. There is also an urgent need to address the “new normal” that includes non-face-to-face and non-contact interactions.
As a provider of mobility solutions that focus on people’s daily lives, Panasonic aims to invigorate people, communities, and the earth. Panasonic has also worked alongside residents, partner companies, and local governments over the past six years to operate Fujisawa Sustainable Smart Town, seeking to improve the quality of life in the town since its opening in 2014.
With this trial, Panasonic is accelerating its efforts to launch the new delivery service while working closely with the town’s residents. The company hopes to take advantage of the technology and knowhow it has acquired through the development of autonomous-driving robots and ride-sharing services offered on the company premises.
This initiative will be conducted based on Japan’s Action Plan of the Growth Strategy (July 2020), which outlines the country’s policy of conducting demonstration drives of remote monitoring/operation-type delivery robots on public roads so low-speed and compact autonomous-driving robots can be implemented in society. Panasonic participates in the public-private council to promote deliveries by autonomous-driving robots sponsored by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and part of the company’s R&D and field test activities are being supported by NEDO(New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization)’s technology development project for promoting new delivery services using autonomous-driving robots.
To conduct demonstration drives using autonomous-driving robots on public roads, it is necessary to apply for a road use permit at the police station overseeing the area after consultations with the National Police Agency and related prefectural police based on the procedures issued by the National Police Agency for demonstration drives of automatic delivery robots (nearby monitoring/operation-type and remote monitoring/operation-type) on public roads.
As for the Phase 1 demonstration drive of the autonomous-driving robot on public roads to be conducted before the end of 2020, the company has obtained a road use permit from Fujisawa Police Station to use the remote monitoring/operation-type autonomous-driving robot, following the relaxation of the safety standards for road trucking vehicles by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. With the permit, the company has been conducting demonstration drives with the cooperation of Kanagawa Prefecture and Fujisawa City.
Fujisawa Sustainable Smart Town is an urban development project located on the former site of Panasonic’s factory in Fujisawa City, Kanagawa Prefecture, with the participation of 18 groups including Panasonic and Fujisawa City. As a real smart town where more than 2,000 people live, it is working on sustainable urban development while also aiming to solve issues facing society and the community through the implementation of mechanisms jointly designed by the companies, local governments, and residents involved with the town, and through the creation of new services.
Official website: https://fujisawasst.com/EN/
Panasonic Corporation Brand Strategy Division Global Communications Office
https://news.panasonic.com/global/contacts/
Panasonic Corporation is a worldwide leader in the development of diverse electronics technologies and solutions for customers in the consumer electronics, housing, automotive, and B2B businesses. The company, which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2018, has expanded globally and now operates 528 subsidiaries and 72 associated companies worldwide, recording consolidated net sales of 7.49 trillion yen for the year ended March 31, 2020. Committed to pursuing new value through innovation across divisional lines, the company uses its technologies to create a better life and a better world for its customers. To learn more about Panasonic: https://www.panasonic.com/global.
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