{"id":2123,"date":"2021-01-06T09:00:39","date_gmt":"2021-01-06T09:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/?p=1333199"},"modified":"2021-01-06T09:00:39","modified_gmt":"2021-01-06T09:00:39","slug":"panasonic-is-testing-japans-reaction-to-its-first-delivery-robots","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/?p=2123","title":{"rendered":"Panasonic is testing Japan\u2019s reaction to its first delivery robots"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This article was originally published by Sarah Wray<\/a> on <\/span>Cities Today<\/span><\/a>, the leading news platform on urban mobility and innovation, reaching an international audience of city leaders. For the latest updates follow Cities Today on <\/span>Twitter<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Facebook<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>LinkedIn<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Instagram<\/span><\/a>, and <\/span>YouTube<\/span><\/a>, or sign up for Cities Today News.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Panasonic<\/a> <\/span>is testing an autonomous delivery robot in <\/span>Fujisawa Sustainable Smart Town<\/a>, the six-year-old urban development initiative in Fujisawa City, Kanagawa Prefecture.<\/p>\n

The first phase of the trial focused on testing a self-driving robot on public roads, began last month and will last until the end of the year. The second phase, which will start in February 2021, will see the robot provide home deliveries to residents in the area. It aims to \u201ctest the acceptability of the new delivery service experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

The robot will run on its own and can avoid most obstacles, but it will be monitored remotely by a control center operator, who can take over if necessary. It will travel at a speed of up to four kilometers per hour.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy offering a new form of delivery service using robots that work closely with humans, [we aim] to contribute to creating a vibrant community where people and mobility coexist,\u201d Panasonic said in a statement.<\/p>\n

The company said the pandemic had accelerated the initiative as more people order food and online goods for delivery and require contactless options.<\/p>\n

According to Panasonic: \u201cThere has been a serious shortage of home delivery staff to support such services.\u201d This hasn\u2019t been the case everywhere in the world<\/a>, though, as in many countries, COVID-induced unemployment has seen heavy competition for delivery work. It\u2019s early days but there are also broader <\/span>concerns<\/a> <\/span>that autonomous robots could eventually start to eat into human jobs.<\/p>\n

In Japan, testing of autonomous vehicles on public roads, including delivery robots, requires a permit from local police.<\/p>\n

[Read: Meet the 4 scale-ups using data to save the planet<\/span><\/a>]<\/em><\/p>\n

National strategy<\/h2>\n

The trials are based on Japan\u2019s <\/span>growth strategy action plan<\/a>, published in July 2020, which called for robot delivery pilots to inform policymaking for a wider roll-out.<\/p>\n

Panasonic is taking part in a public-private council for the promotion of deliveries by autonomous robots which is sponsored by Japan\u2019s Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry. Part of the company\u2019s R&D and field test activities are also being supported by a government technology development project to accelerate the deployment of autonomous delivery technologies.<\/p>\n

In October, Japan Post Co. <\/span>started<\/a> <\/span>public road trials of self-driving delivery robots in Tokyo.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere, Starship Technologies is <\/span>running<\/a> <\/span>robot deliveries with the Co-op supermarket in two UK cities, with plans to expand the service next year. In July, Amazon announced<\/a> trials of its electric, autonomous Scout package delivery robots in Atlanta, Georgia, and Franklin, Tennessee, adding to services in Snohomish County<\/a>, Washington, and Irvine<\/a>, California.<\/p>\n

San Francisco, which was a front-runner for the deployment of robot deliveries, <\/span>passed regulations<\/a> <\/span>in 2017 to govern the use of delivery robots after complaints from some residents. The city has since established an Office of Emerging Technology<\/a> <\/span>to engage earlier with companies that want to deploy potentially disruptive new systems and products.<\/p>\n

In other robot uses during the pandemic, Singapore piloted a four-legged, dog-like robot called Spot to <\/span>promote social distancing<\/a> in parks, and Seoul is using small humanoid robots to deliver digital skills training<\/a> to senior citizens.<\/p>\n

Smart town<\/h2>\n

Panasonic has been working in Fujisawa Sustainable Smart Town since it opened in 2014. The development, which is home to over 2,000 people, is located on the site of a former Panasonic factory in Fujisawa. It brings together 18 public and private organizations, including Panasonic and Fujisawa City. The community aims to serve as a model for citizen-centric sustainable development and how technology can address urban challenges related to energy, security, mobility, and health.<\/p>\n

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SHIFT<\/a> is brought to you by Polestar. It\u2019s time to accelerate the shift to sustainable mobility. That is why Polestar combines electric driving with cutting-edge design and thrilling performance.<\/span><\/i> Find out how<\/span><\/i><\/a>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Published January 6, 2021 \u2014 09:00 UTC <\/p>\n

Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This article was originally published by Sarah Wray on Cities Today, the leading news platform on urban mobility and innovation, reaching an international audience of city leaders. For the latest updates follow Cities…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2124,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2123"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2123"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2123\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2124"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2123"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2123"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2123"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}