Nuro brings autonomous vehicle test fleet to Japan for data collection

Nuro brings over eight years of development and four years of real-world deployments in California and Texas. | Source: Nuro

Nuro Inc. this week announced that it will be bringing its test fleet of autonomous vehicles to Japan in the coming weeks. This marks the Mountain View, Calif.-based company’s first international data-collection initiative.

This test deployment will be similar to the data-collection tour it took across 59 U.S. cities last year, according to Nuro. The effort will allow the company to improve its artificial intelligence model by deepening its understanding of local traffic dynamics.

This announcement comes just a week after Nuro said it has raised $106 million so far in its ongoing Series E round, which brings its valuation to $6 billion. The company offers two flagship products to automotive manufacturers, suppliers, and mobility companies: the SAE Level 4 Nuro Driver and “Level 2++” Nuro Driver Assist. It said each combines automotive-grade hardware with “AI-first” self-driving software.

Nuro cites road conditions for testing

Japan’s unique driving conditions will present an opportunity for the Nuro Driver to broaden the environments it understands and navigates, said Nuro. It added that this is “an essential step in building a truly generalizable autonomy stack.”

When combined with its other training data sources, the company said this new effort accelerates its mission to develop a safer, more capable autonomous vehicle (AV).

Nuro said Japan’s roads are known for their complexity and distinct characteristics, which include:

• Vehicles driving on the left-hand side of the road
• Densely packed urban corridors and narrow residential areas
• Unique driving behaviors and cultural traffic norms

These provide unique opportunities for Nuro to train its driver. The company said the data it gathers will strengthen its technology for future partner deployments across the globe.

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Why Japan is attractive to AV developers

But Nuro isn’t the only autonomous vehicle developer that has its sights set on Japan. Waymo has also started testing its AVs on public roads in Tokyo. In addition, back in October 2023, before GM stopped funding Cruise’s AV deployments, the company planned to bring its AVs to Japan.

So, why are American self-driving car developers picking Japan as their first international deployment? Unlike the U.S., where regulators have struggled to keep up with AV innovation, Japan has been working for years to establish laws and regulations into place for autonomous driving. The country began allowing Level 3 vehicles on roads in 2020, and Level 4 vehicles in 2023.

Japan’s aging population has resulted in a serious driver shortage, both in passenger transportation and in freight transportation. This makes the country a strong potential market for AVs.

Nuro also said it looks forward to working with policymakers, regulators, first responders, and local communities. The company claimed that it has driven over 1.2 million autonomous miles without an at-fault incident, and it has more than four years of Level 4 AV deployments without a safety driver on public roads.

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