Japan Trials Driverless Cars In Bid To Keep Rural Elderly On the Move (reuters.com)

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Japan Trials Driverless Cars In Bid To Keep Rural Elderly On the Move (reuters.com)

Posted by BeauHD on Wednesday September 13, 2017 @07:00PM from the band-on-the-run dept.

According to Reuters, Japan is starting to experiment with self-driving buses in rural communities such as Nishikata, 71 miles (115 km) north of the capital, Tokyo, where elderly residents struggle with fewer bus and taxi services as the population ages and shrinks. From the report: The swift advance of autonomous driving technology is prompting cities such as Paris and Singapore to experiment with such services, which could prove crucial in Japan, where populations are not only greying, but declining, in rural areas.Japan could launch self-driving services for remote communities by 2020, if the trials begun this month prove successful. The government plans to turn highway rest stops into hubs from which to ferry the elderly to medical, retail and banking services. In the initial trials of the firm's driverless six-seater Robot Shuttle, elderly residents of Nishikata, in Japan's Tochigi prefecture, were transferred between a service area and a municipal complex delivering healthcare services. The test also checked the vehicle's operational safety in road conditions ranging from puddles to fallen debris, and if those crossing its path would react to the warning it emits.

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Which is it? by KGIII · 2017-09-13 19:09 · Score: 1

A car, or a bus? Sheesh...

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"So long and thanks for all the fish."
1. Re: Which is it? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-13 19:13 · Score: 0
  
  RTFA. It's a self-driving vehicle with six seats.
2. Re: Which is it? by KGIII · 2017-09-13 20:19 · Score: 1
  
  Read the summary and title. Sheesh...
  
  --
  "So long and thanks for all the fish."
3. Re:Which is it? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-13 21:26 · Score: 0
  
  A cat bus.
4. Re:Which is it? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-13 23:38 · Score: 0
  
  catbus has balls.
5. Re:Which is it? by hey! · 2017-09-14 01:47 · Score: 2
  
  Where does the dividing line come?
  Here in the US most of our roadways were designed around cars. Even in older cities, the pre-automobile streets tend to be wider than their counterparts in older, say European cities. That's what drives our mania for large cars that simply would be impractical in many countries.
  Japan has a lot of ancient roadways that are extremely narrow and sometimes windy. This has prompted the evolution of motor vehicles that seem amusingly tiny to American eyes, but are in fact the only practical solution in many cases for getting a motorized vehicle where it has to go.
  If you want a bus that will reach rural elderly people on the other side of a bridge that was built just wide enough to accomodate a tractor, it's got to be a very small bus -- more the size that Americans would consider normal for a car, and not maybe not even a large car at that. But it is a bus in that it plays the role of a bus.
  Japanese engineers seem to be more willing to think outside the box when it comes to system concepts; or perhaps Japanese consumers are more open-minded than American consumers. It's not just that they're good at miniaturization; they're also good at making ridiculously large things. Size is something that culturally speaking they're more at home playing with.
  
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6. Re:Which is it? by HiThere · 2017-09-14 04:52 · Score: 1
  
  Also, at least among the older Japanese, smaller body sizes are more common. But don't assume their larger people are any smaller than the ones you know, unless you know some professional basketball or football players. Even then...the Japanese also produce Sumo wrestlers.
  But on the average older Japanese are smaller than older USians, so smaller vehicles are appropriate.
  
  --
  
  I think we've pushed this "anyone can grow up to be president" thing too far.
7. Re:Which is it? by KGIII · 2017-09-14 07:34 · Score: 1
  
  6 passengers and we'd probably call it a van, in the US.
  The headline says cars, the summary says buses. I'm not actually sure it's either.
  
  --
  "So long and thanks for all the fish."
How about not sticking the elderly in nursing home by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-13 19:10 · Score: 0

Most of those fucking places are inhumane, where the elderly get hidden away to die, in a corner, out of sight. Fuck those places. How about developing robots to care for the elderly so we don't have to send them to cruel nursing homes that kill them? Driverless cars are fine, but let's do more.
Yeah, I'm pissed. My grandmother died in a fucking nursing home a few days ago, most likely due to them being incredibly negligent. Develop robots and put those homes out of business.
wrong problem... by supernova87a · 2017-09-13 19:19 · Score: 1, Interesting

Maybe the Japanese technologists should help work out some of the issues about their population decline, cost of living and cost of parenting that disincentivizes family formation, hatred of foreigners, and other issues, lest they run out of people to sit in these self-driving buses when they finally hit the roads?
1. Re:wrong problem... by JanneM · 2017-09-13 20:38 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  This is really about urbanization, not population changes, and it's not limited to Japan.
  The issue is that young people leave rural areas - for school, higher education, jobs - and don't return. Cities grow while rural areas shrink, and eventually the population becomes too small and too sparse to support a good range of public services. Similar things are happening in Europe and in north America as well.
  
  --
  Trust the Computer. The Computer is your friend.
2. Re:wrong problem... by tinkerton · 2017-09-13 22:52 · Score: 1
  
  I think their approach is excellent. Driverless and driver-assisted cars could give freedom of movement to a lot of people who otherwise wouldn't qualify for driving. That includes a lot of people who are already/still on the road. Heck, imagine being able to drink and drive again!
3. Re:wrong problem... by AmiMoJo · 2017-09-13 23:05 · Score: 1
  
  Japan does have a specific problem with people not having children though. It's basically too expensive, and even though they strengthened maternity rights at work women still feel unable to balance children and a career. There are also more and more men who have little interest in children, or even women at all, instead preferring otaku (nerd) culture. Note that they are not like western incels though, they don't hate women.
  Japanese culture is particularly bad for this stuff. There is a culture of being seen to be working hard, which is somewhat incompatible with taking time off for children or balancing work and life. To change that parenthood is being portrayed as an important job in itself, something vital to the national well-being and to be commended.
  It seems that there is also a bit of a disconnect with the younger generations, which makes it harder for the older ones in politics to find solutions to the problem. Initially it was seen kind of like an industrial problem; one minister actually described the problem as having a "limited number of baby-making machines" which really demonstrates how hopeless he was.
  The other issue is that Japanese culture is rather unique and quite big on conforming to social norms, not to mention the difficult language. That makes it somewhat difficult to import labour, because for example a nurse needs to be able to read and write Japanese to work safely. People who make the effort are welcomed, and tourists get by because no-one expects them to know that stuff, but in the middle you have people who want to work or integrate but need to study hard for a long time first.
  
  --
  const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
  SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
4. Re:wrong problem... by JanneM · 2017-09-14 01:31 · Score: 2
  
  I agree low birthrates is a problem (although the reasons are principally economical rather than social). I live in Japan and see this first hand.
  Low birth rates is not the cause of the rural depopulation, though. That has been an ongoing trend since long before the population stopped growing; and it's a trend in countries whose populations are stable or still growing at present.
  
  --
  Trust the Computer. The Computer is your friend.
5. Re:wrong problem... by HiThere · 2017-09-14 05:11 · Score: 1
  
  Actually, the Japanese *do* dislike "foreigners" living there. So do most countries (or Trump would never have been elected) but the Japanese are a bit extreme...possibly because they have long been an island, and have repelled repeated invasions. But native Japanese of Korean ancestry who have lived there from multiple generations are still strongly discriminated against, even though *I*, as a Caucasian teenager, was not able to tell the difference by looking. (OTOH, I believe that those in the US with African ancestry who are natives and have lived in the country for multiple generations also feel strongly discriminated against. So don't be too self-righteous.)
  
  --
  
  I think we've pushed this "anyone can grow up to be president" thing too far.
6. Re:wrong problem... by AmiMoJo · 2017-09-14 05:52 · Score: 1
  
  Japanese culture tries hard to avoid embarrassment, and dealing with foreigners can often lead to it. However, once you indicate that you understand this people are generally quite nice and helpful.
  
  --
  const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
  SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
7. Re:wrong problem... by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-14 07:09 · Score: 0
  
  Note that they are not like western incels though, they don't hate women.
  Most men in the west don't hate women either.
  It's usually hateful women who think that it's men who are hateful. Kinda like how anti-SJWs whine and act in ways that they say is what SJWs do.
8. Re:wrong problem... by angel'o'sphere · 2017-09-14 09:48 · Score: 1
  
  and eventually the population becomes too small and too sparse to support a good range of public services.
  In the US, where public service is a communist thing ...
  
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9. Re:wrong problem... by angel'o'sphere · 2017-09-14 09:56 · Score: 1
  
  Japan does have a specific problem with people not having children though. It's basically too expensive, and even though they strengthened maternity rights at work women still feel unable to balance children and a career. There are also more and more men who have little interest in children, or even women at all, instead preferring otaku (nerd) culture. Note that they are not like western incels though, they don't hate women.
  The after Fukushima government issued warnings not to have children in the danger zones (and that is a quarter of the island, Tokyo is on), might have pushed that issue even further.
  not to mention the difficult language.
  The language is actually super simple. They basically only speak "baby speech". From the Asian languages, I know it is the most simplest one, probably followed by Korean.
  Westerners are easily intimidated by the "writing system". Just learn the words ... and actually learning Kanji is not harder than reading a chemistry book.
  because for example a nurse needs to be able to read and write Japanese to work safely.
  Of course. And learning the 2000 Kanji a Japanese had learned after high school, takes a few years, that can't be helped. However if you are dedicated, learn only one Kanji per day, it only takes 6 years :D and it is no problem to learn 5-10 Kanji per day. Wich cuts it to a year or half a year.
  
  --
  Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
10. Re:wrong problem... by angel'o'sphere · 2017-09-14 09:58 · Score: 1
  
  And don't tell a Japanese that his precious islands where colonized via Korea :D
  
  --
  Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
Re: How about not sticking the elderly in nursing by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-13 19:40 · Score: 0

We need total surveillance in nursing homes and prisons. A lot of very slimy things happen in nursing homes just like they do in prisons.
Sloppy writing or geographical cluelessness? by petes_PoV · 2017-09-13 19:41 · Score: 1

cities such as Paris and Singapore to experiment with such services, which could prove crucial in Japan
Decide for yourself.

--
politicians are like babies' nappies: they should both be changed regularly and for the same reasons
1. Re:Sloppy writing or geographical cluelessness? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-13 20:22 · Score: 0
  
  Isn't singapore a city-state?
2. Re:Sloppy writing or geographical cluelessness? by scdeimos · 2017-09-13 21:29 · Score: 1
  
  To be fair the Republic of Singapore (at 719km2) is 1/20th the size of some other cities (e.g.: Brisbane in Australia is 15,842km2).
Re:How about not sticking the elderly in nursing h by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-13 19:58 · Score: 0

Yeah, don't shuffle them off to homes and into corners LIKE YOU FUCKING DID. YOU are the problem. Care for your own... Fuck millennials who can't give a shit to take care of those who took care of them. Self-absorbed pricks too "busy" to care for their own.
Re:How about not sticking the elderly in nursing h by sheramil · 2017-09-13 20:01 · Score: 4, Funny

How about developing robots to care for the elderly so we don't have to send them to cruel nursing homes that kill them?
How about developing mecha for the elderly that allow them to walk to the shops and, if necessary, tear the roof off in order to find that brand of potato bun they like so much?
Re:How about not sticking the elderly in nursing h by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-13 20:03 · Score: 5, Informative

Most of those fucking places are inhumane, where the elderly get hidden away to die, in a corner, out of sight. Fuck those places. How about developing robots to care for the elderly so we don't have to send them to cruel nursing homes that kill them? Driverless cars are fine, but let's do more.
Yeah, I'm pissed. My grandmother died in a fucking nursing home a few days ago, most likely due to them being incredibly negligent. Develop robots and put those homes out of business.
I cook in a nursing home. I can tell you that most of people who work there care deeply about the well being of the people they serve. I know I do. It is very sad indeed that there are care facility companies that take advantage of the elderly. But the same goes for the US prison system.
What I can tell you is that some good non profit care facilities that make it easy for the relatives to help in the care process have much better levels of care than the ones that charge more and essentially are just there to make money for the share holders. Then there are ones that are just plain bad and need to be reorganized or put out of business like the one that just killed seniors from heat stroke in Florida by not providing adequate emergency power and staffing to keep the residents hydrated and safe! With a working hospital right next door for Gods sake!
The problems with caring for seniors is a complex and difficult situation and the more the profit motive dictates care models the more shoddy the care will become. Same as the irresponsible patent drug companies that fleece the health care system for all they can grab. I am deeply sorry that your grandmother died in a care facility and the passing was not a good death, I have seen this and had a father who died miserably while under care. But this does not mean that there are not good people working to make a difference.
Japan has much greater respect for the elderly than we do and we can learn a great deal from what they do as the average age of the population increases. Robots and robotic mobility is one possible adjunct to future care but without help from relatives, responsible institutions (in the best sense of the word) and professional care givers who truly care all the devices in the world will not make a difference.
Why isn't Africa making driverless cars? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-13 20:40 · Score: 0

Or even cars? Bicycles? Anything? Anybody know why? I just can't imagine...
1. Re: Why isn't Africa making driverless cars? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-13 21:36 · Score: 0
  
  They make good rickshaw engines.
Great by bluegutang · 2017-09-13 21:20 · Score: 1

My impression is that right now driverless cars are extremely safe (i.e. much safer than a human) in most circumstances. But in certain circumstances, like rain or snow or sunset, they are still quite unsafe.
So you can set up a driverless car service now, and only allow it to run when it's safe (which is probably more than 90% of the time).
90% availability is unacceptable for the average consumer. But for elderly people who would otherwise not be able to move at all (and tend to have flexible schedules, being retired), it's a massive improvement.
1. Re:Great by fluffernutter · 2017-09-13 21:26 · Score: 2
  
  I don't think it's that easy. There are going to be edge cases that happen during that 90% of the time that are also unsafe. A child or pet that didn't quite appear in a sensor, a sudden storm. What are you going to do if those occur, park by the side of the road and force a walk home?
  
  --
  Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
2. Re: Great by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-13 21:43 · Score: 0
  
  After they become common, I suspect the driverless cars will be subject to various forms of trolling that exploit the corner cases.
3. Re: Great by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-13 23:01 · Score: 0
  
  It's dead simple to troll existing drivers with a laser, or any number of other means. I doubt you will see any increase, less so when it's all likely to be caught on camera.
4. Re:Great by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-13 23:45 · Score: 0
  
  Stop the car and contact HQ. HQ will check the cameras and see if its an issue and if a technician needs to be sent out. These towns getting the cars are likely going to have a local shop that manages and services the vehicles, in those 5-10% of cases where something happens, they can just come out and take care of it. A lot of these elderly would put up with a little inconvenience on the rare occasion if it gives them more mobility.
5. Re:Great by fluffernutter · 2017-09-14 00:39 · Score: 1
  
  Yeah old people are going to love being stranded in the middle of nowhere. It's not like any would have to get back to take medication at certain times or anything.
  
  --
  Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
6. Re:Great by WrongMonkey · 2017-09-14 05:29 · Score: 2
  
  Human drivers don't handle edge cases either as evidenced by the over 5,000 pedestrians are killed by human drivers every year and 130,000 being treated for non-fatal injuries.
7. Re:Great by fluffernutter · 2017-09-16 08:16 · Score: 1
  
  If people weren't accepting of the risk, they wouldn't be out there to be in an accident.
  
  --
  Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
Re:How about not sticking the elderly in nursing h by scdeimos · 2017-09-13 21:25 · Score: 1

AC and all. If I had points I'd mod you up.
Good thinking, Japanese by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-13 21:50 · Score: 0

Good thinking, Japanese! Testing the car on the elderly first.
Re: How about not sticking the elderly in nursing by jordanjay29 · 2017-09-13 22:34 · Score: 1

It is very sad indeed that there are care facility companies that take advantage of the elderly. But the same goes for the US prison system.
At least in prison, inmates have done something wrong to get them there. The only thing people in nursing homes have done is live long enough to lose the ability to care for themselves.
Re:How about not sticking the elderly in nursing h by AmiMoJo · 2017-09-14 00:06 · Score: 1

That was the plot of an anime whose name I forget now... Some kind of robot bed for the elderly with a neural interface that naturally also transforms into a giant mech when required.
It was an interesting movie. There were elderly hackers, the guys who cut their teeth in the 80s and 90s and then got old, but still retained their skills and love of exploration and tinkering.

--
const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
Re:How about not sticking the elderly in nursing h by Antique+Geekmeister · 2017-09-14 00:17 · Score: 1

If you find a title for this, please point it out. As one of "the guys who cut their teeth in the 80s and 90s and then got old", a mecha suit instead of retirement sounds wonderful.
To Keep Rural Elderly On the Move by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-14 00:24 · Score: 1

Dunno why, but I got a mental image of these cars lurking behind trees and chasing old people to make sure they got plenty of exercise.
1. Re:To Keep Rural Elderly On the Move by cjmnews · 2017-09-14 02:34 · Score: 1
  
  I had a similar image, only it was the car lurching forward a few feet each time the elderly got close...
  
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Roujin Z by JBMcB · 2017-09-14 00:49 · Score: 3, Informative

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

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My Other Computer Is A Data General Nova III.
1. Re:Roujin Z by AmiMoJo · 2017-09-14 00:59 · Score: 1
  
  Thanks, I might track down a copy.
  
  --
  const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
  SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
European way by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-14 01:29 · Score: 0

technology is overrated (self driving car or robots). Just do like the Europeans: let millions of migrants from Syria, Irak or Pakistan to take care of elderly european.
'Trial' is not a verb by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-14 02:10 · Score: 0

It's a noun or an adjective, goddammit!
You don't "trial" a defendant, you TRY him.
Asian drivers? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-14 02:36 · Score: 0

Let's hope that Asian driver-less cars drive better than Asian drivers.
Re:How about not sticking the elderly in nursing h by DevsVult · 2017-09-14 02:50 · Score: 1

Strongly agree. Given a choice between euthanasia and going into a nursing home, I'm opting for death with dignity. Here in Canada euthanasia is becoming legal under some circumstances, so hopefully the legal situation will have evolved into death-on-demand by the time I need it in 30 years or so.

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// DevsVult: The Machines Will It
Re:digitarian parasites trying random exterminatio by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-14 03:07 · Score: 0

creeps who don't feed their animals but still want to work them.. cease fire stand down,, there's wmd 'weather' in all of our towns... hanging on to our hemisperes we hum along... https://www.youtube.com/result... .. good/better for us geezers to walk around some.. that's the spirit.. thanks
I want some of what you are smoking. It might also be good stuff to give to seniors with Alzheimer's to keep them from freaking out as you stuff them into a self driving taxi! Apart from that if you have someone else with you who understands WTF you are talking about, consider yourselves a pair of noyas. But then again it could be that there is more of you right inside doing some of the thinking.
Re: How about not sticking the elderly in nursing by Type44Q · 2017-09-14 03:07 · Score: 1

Right, because leaving'em alone with a fucking robot is a step up in the neglect dept...
Autonomous car/bus in my future by mspohr · 2017-09-14 04:40 · Score: 1

I'm getting older and I'm hoping that autonomous vehicles will improve rapidly enough so that I can still get around as my faculties deteriorate. (Although my mom is 93 and still drives so there is hope.)

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Re: How about not sticking the elderly in nursing by HiThere · 2017-09-14 05:03 · Score: 1

You know what, it *IS* a step up.
My wife was in a "nursing home" for a couple of weeks before she died, and I'm rather sure that they were using cut rate medicines that were counterfeit, and totally certain that they didn't verify that she took the medicine. (When she was out of her head, they'd just leave the medicine there for her. Sometimes I was able to get her to take them, but I couldn't be there 24 hours a day.)
She was doing reasonably well in the hospital, so they transferred her to a "nursing home" for skilled treatment. The skilled treatment was better than I could have provided at home...she was a fall risk, needed daily physical therapy, etc., but the care was almost absent. Many of the staff did as well as they could, before they burned out, but they were so overworked that there was no possibility of decent treatment. Sometimes she would wait for a hour for someone to take care of her need to "go to the bathroom". It was so noisy that we were almost unable to talk. And when I found one of the pills that she was supposed to have taken in her bed, I found out that they had an official policy of not recording that event.
So, yes, care by a robot would probably have been better. With a robot I might even have been able to bring her home, and make sure she got the real medicine.

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I think we've pushed this "anyone can grow up to be president" thing too far.
Re:How about not sticking the elderly in nursing h by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-14 07:52 · Score: 0

Moving articulations, even mech powered, is still painful.
Re:How about not sticking the elderly in nursing h by Anonymous Coward · 2017-09-14 10:29 · Score: 0

You'll be pleased to hear, then, that domestic assistance robots have been a thing in Japan for years.
Seriously, Japan is a full generation ahead of the US or Europe in robotics.