T2 develops autonomous truck technology for public road transit

T2 has successfully implemented technology allowing autonomous trucks to navigate public roads to connect with highway interchanges. The company conducted experiments in September, successfully routing vehicles from the ‘Transgate Ayase’ hub near the Tomei Expressway to the Nishinomiya-kita interchange on the Chugoku Expressway, and vice versa.

During these trials, the vehicles operated at Level 2 autonomy, requiring driver supervision. The technology utilizes high-precision trajectory design to maintain a minimum 1-meter clearance from structures and employs sensors to detect pedestrians and cyclists within a 60-meter range. T2 also demonstrated the ability to trigger vehicle departures via a proprietary smartphone web application.

This development serves as a milestone toward achieving Level 4 autonomy, where workers could dispatch unmanned trucks from hubs. T2 plans to introduce these technologies into commercial operations starting in January 2027. In preparation, actual cargo was transported using Fukuyama Transporting Co., Ltd. services during test runs in October.