What happened
BOLDLY Inc. operates a NAVYA ARMA shuttle on a loop of about 1.3 km inside Haneda Innovation City, a complex beside Tokyo's Haneda Airport. BOLDLY applied to the Kanto District Transport Bureau of Japan's transport ministry for the shuttle's automated operation device. On 20 October 2023 the bureau confirmed that the device met the safety standards of the Road Transport Vehicle Act. It attached operating environment conditions and approved the shuttle as a Level 4 automated vehicle that needs no driver, at up to about 12 km/h. The same release approved a TIER IV shuttle at GLP ALFALINK Sagamihara, and the two were the first Level 4 approvals in the Kanto region. The release says that the shuttle recognizes its own position with sensors and detects surrounding vehicles and pedestrians on a set route. A 2020 Velodyne Lidar release says that NAVYA's shuttles use guidance and detection systems enhanced with deep learning technology. The approval rests on a conformity check and reports no outcome from service with no driver.
Sources
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Regulatory document, by authors with no tie to the system.
Kanto District Transport Bureau, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (国土交通省関東運輸局). 関東で初めて自動運転車（レベル４）の認可を行いました (The first approvals of Level 4 automated vehicles in Kanto). Press release, 20 October 2023.
2023 年 10 月 20 日、道路運送車両法に基づ き保安基準の適合性が確認されましたので、走行環境条件の付与を行い、運転者を必要としない自動 運転車（レベル４）として認可しました。
この自動運転車（レベル４）は、あらかじめ決められたルート内を周囲の車両や歩行者等を検知し ながら、特定の条件下において自動運転することが可能です。
Details
AI system
- Workflow
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The shuttle finds its own position with sensors and follows a set loop of about 1.3 km inside Haneda Innovation City at up to about 12 km/h. It detects surrounding vehicles and pedestrians while it drives. The bureau confirmed that the automated operation device met the safety standards and set its operating environment conditions.
Follow-up
- Conditions for replication
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The shuttle drives itself only on the approved loop and under the conditions of the approval. Service with no driver also needs a permit under the Road Traffic Act, which the release does not cover.
Entry details
- Sector
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Road vehicle automated driving.
- Purpose
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NAVYA built the ARMA shuttle to drive itself on set routes with no driver under specific conditions.
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Cite this benefit
Peter H. Vartanian. (2026). NAVYA's ARMA may run with no driver at Haneda Innovation City (AIBD-1213). Artificial Intelligence Benefits Database, edition of 2 November 2026. https://petervartanian.xyz/aibd/records/AIBD-1213.html (archived at https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/AADSII, version 9.0)