Japan Post, a special private company under the jurisdiction of the Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications that offers postal and logistics services as well as banking and insurance services, aims to build a database of digital maps using technology from Israeli vision software startup Innoviz.
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Japan posts hopes that a bank of digitally mapped roads will pave the way for smart city services, such as autonomous driving and unmanned deliveries.
On Wednesday, at Scrum Ventures' SmartCityX Conference in San Francisco, Japan Post announced that it plans to install InnovizOne LiDAR sensors on its postal delivery cars. The InnovizOne-equipped delivery vehicles will gather information about changes in roads and buildings along delivery routes.
Autonomous on-road delivery vehicles are a near-term priority for cities that are increasingly looking for efficient ways to move people and goods. The Japanese market for smart city technologies is expected to grow from nearly $45 billion in 2021 to over $93 billion by 2027.
"Cities are evolving and re-emerging stronger than ever from the pandemic," said Michael Proman, Managing Director at Scrum Ventures and SmartCityX. "The collaborations between our Japanese partners and participating stage-agnostic startups transcend multiple smart city categories and represent some of the most thoughtful and innovative solutions being deployed around the world. We're thrilled to help further these efforts."
"We greatly appreciate such an innovative approach full of possibilities to solve local issues across the country using the solution from Innoviz," said Executive Officer at Japan Post, Yoshihiro Gomi. "We hope that the combination of our assets and InnovizOne LiDAR sensor will lead to the creation of a new business."
"Our innovative collaboration with Japan Post highlights the versatility of the Innoviz LiDAR and this is another example of new ways to use LiDAR in smart cities," said VP Asia at Innoviz Technologies, David Oberman. "We are grateful for the resources and support from Scrum Ventures to accelerate deployment of our InnovizOne LiDAR sensors for constructing digital maps and bringing value to Japan residents."
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