Sony Wants to Use AI to Dispatch Taxis in Japan
Five cab companies will partner with Sony on the project.


Sony wants to use artificial intelligence to more efficiently dispatch taxis in Japan. The electronics giant is partnering with five Japanese taxi companies to commercialize the concept, reports Nikkei Asian Review. The project could make Sony into a major player in a market where Uber is a minor presence.
Sony hopes to build a platform that will coordinate taxis based on factors like past rides, traffic, weather conditions, and local events. Riders will likely use an app, just like Uber, but will ride in actual taxis rather than privately-owned ride-sharing vehicles. Uber is only allowed to operate in certain sparsely-populated areas of Japan because of strict regulations.
Those regulations make an Uber-style ride-sharing service impossible in Japan, but various companies are trying to use technology to improve traditional taxi services. Last year, NTT Docomo began testing AI-based software designed to predict ride requests.
More recently, Toyota invested 7.5 billion yen ($70 million) in JapanTaxi, an app-development arm of taxi operator Nihon Kotsu, also with the goal of developing an AI-based dispatching system. Both Uber and Chinese rival Didi Chuxing have talked with Japanese taxi operators about providing dispatch systems (Japanese firm SoftBank is a major investor in both Uber and Didi). But with five taxi companies already signed up, Sony may have a head start.
MORE TO READ

Related
Daimler and Bosch Will Test Autonomous Taxis Within The Next Few Months
The two companies face plenty of competition in the segment.

Related
Watch This Ford Focus RS Used as a Taxi in Norway
Evald Jåstad takes ‘Blue Lightning’ around Odda picking up passengers along the way.

Related
This Japanese Firm Wants to Use Drones to Force Overtime Employees to Go Home
Excessive overtime in Japan is a serious problem. Taisei is proposing the use of music-playing drones to solve this issue.

Related
Nissan Will Launch an Autonomous Ride-Sharing Pilot in Japan Next Year
But it won’t operate for very long.

Related