On Tuesday, Yamato Transport Co. and DeNA Co. tested an autonomous vehicle delivery service to gauge the potential of self-driving technology in the field of logistics.
The two Tokyo-based companies conducted the experiment in Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture, in which an electric car navigated through a short, quarantined road without anyone sitting in the driver's seat. A person sat in the front passenger seat to observe the operation.
During one demonstration, the vehicle, equipped with a camera and infrared sensor, ran through the residential area at 5 to 10 kph. When the delivery car arrived at its destination, a customer opened up a box inside the vehicle, allowed a QR code on her smartphone to be scanned, and picked up the product.
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