SoftBank's service to help power self-driving buses, farm machinery (updated)

Kajima

03/06/2019 09:52

* Service to begin trials next month 
    * SoftBank expanding its backing for autonomous services 

 (Adds details on new service, industry background)
    By Sam Nussey
    TOKYO, June 3 (Reuters) - Japan's SoftBank Corp  9434.T 
said on Monday it will launch a service this year that would use
satellite navigation data and the telco's mobile base stations
to help power self-driving buses, drones and farm machinery.
    The service, which will begin trials in Japan next month
before expanding nationwide in November, aims to provide
centimeter-level positioning to the autonomous tech that is
beginning to be introduced across a range of industries,
SoftBank said.
    Japan's newly launched constellation of Michibiki satellites
has been offering high-precision location data since last
November, and SoftBank's service will be an early attempt at
building a commercial business with it.
    Despite the government backing, Japan is seen as lagging
other countries in areas such as autonomous driving and the use
of drones in part because of onerous legal restrictions.  
    Kajima Corp  1812.T , one of Japan's big four construction
firms, will trial the service with construction site monitoring
drones. SoftBank's own SB Drive, which is developing
self-driving tech for buses, will also run trials.
    SoftBank is expanding its backing for the nascent field of
autonomous driving on multiple fronts including Monet, a
self-driving car venture set up with Toyota Motor  7203.T .
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N21F0QD
    SoftBank's parent SoftBank Group Corp's  9984.T  portfolio
companies control 90% of the world's ride-hailing industry and
it has taken stakes in self-driving units at Uber Technologies
 UBER.N  and General Motors Co  GM.N .  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N22100K
    Those investments come despite disappointment with speed of
development in the self-driving industry, which has failed to
deliver on earlier bold promises of commercial autonomous cars.
     

 (Reporting by Sam Nussey; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Sherry
Jacob-Phillips)
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