SoftBank’s self-driving bus project pulls in $4.6M to push for 2020 commercialization

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SB Drive is a self-driving project with a focus on making public transportation options, particularly in more rural areas, smarter. The company is aiming to conduct tests on public roads next year with the eventual target of a commercial service by 2020. Already, it said, it has run “social trials” and testing using fixed-route public buses and freighter trucks that make use of autonomous driving tech. While there haven’t been major self-driving bus initiatives of this scale in the West, Japan has different social issues to contend with. That figure, which is higher in some rural regions, is forecast to reach 40 percent nationwide by 2060 meaning that, particularly outside of urban areas, many citizens will require additional help.

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