In Tokyo, autonomous taxis are testing carrying passengers

A self-driving cab has successfully ferried passengers across the busy streets of Tokyo in a trial that has been billed the world’s first demonstration of a public taxi ride by an autonomous vehicle. Passengers paid to be carried across the city in a driverless minivan supplied by ZMP, a robot technology company, and Hinomaru Kotsu, a taxi firm, which collaborated to develop the service. A 5.3km route was mapped out to take them from Tokyo’s Chiyoda ward to the Roppongi Hills, a popular entertainment district. The experiments are partially funded by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and aimed at the development of a commercial autonomous travel network.