[Kyodo News, June 27]Kajima Corporation of Japan announced on the 26th that it will put into operation a “Level 4” driverless bus that can be driven automatically by the system under certain conditions as early as July at the comprehensive facility “HANEDA INNOVATION CITY” (Ota Ward, Tokyo) near Haneda Airport. Kajima is the first private company to obtain a Level 4 operating license.

A bus will run at a maximum speed of 12 kilometers per hour along a route of about 800 meters around the facility area. The unmanned bus can carry 11 people and can be used by visitors to the facility. In order to prevent accidents, a person in charge will be arranged in the car for about one month after it is put into use, and then it will be unmanned. The company in charge of the operation is SoftBank’s subsidiary “BOLDLY”.

Kashima and BOLDLY aim to introduce an autonomous driving service connecting HANEDA INNOVATION CITY and Haneda Airport around 2026.

Regarding L4 autonomous driving, Eiheiji Town, Fukui Prefecture, began implementing it in May last year. (End)