Self driving company eve autonomy has launched Japan’s first unmanned transportation service using autonomous EVs. Jointly developed with Yamaha Motor and TIER IV, the new commercial service is operating with Level 4 driverless autonomous EVs.

eve auto is a combination of an autonomous EV developed by Yamaha Motor and the commercial autonomous driving software platforms Pilot.Auto and Web.Auto offered by TIER IV. It is a subscription-type autonomous transportation service that comes with after-sales support, such as periodic maintenance or map editing, and dedicated insurance for the autonomous driving system provider in a single package. It can be used in a range of environments, including campuses, industrial estates and warehouses. At the moment, it cannot be used on public roads.

eve autonomy has been working to launch eve auto as a commercial service for about two and a half years since its foundation in February 2020. The company implemented a Level 4 autonomous fleet of transport vehicles at Yamaha Motor’s Hamakita factory around the summer of 2020. Currently, eve auto is in operation at nine sites, including Yamaha Motor’s three factories, Prime Polymer’s Anesaki Works, Panasonic Corp.’s cold chain factory in the Oizumi area, Fuji Electric’s Suzuka factory, Japan Logistic Systems Corp.’s Ageo Centre, and ENEOS Corp.’s Negishi refinery.

The company believes its new autonomous EV will help address economic and social issues in Japan arising from a declining workforce and the COVID-19 pandemic.

To address some of the technical challenges of autonomous transport, particularly managing environments shared with other vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians, eve autonomy has adapted TIER IV’s commercial autonomous driving software platforms Pilot.Auto and Web.Auto to a compact EV tailored for autonomous transportation developed by Yamaha Motor. The result is eve auto.

eve auto is designed both indoor and outdoor environments and can tow up to 1,500 kilograms. Additional services, including post-deployment support and vehicle maintenance, are also provided. It is on a land vehicle that can move on uneven outdoor environments and autonomous driving software optimised for use in low-speed automated transportation, able to withstand rain and wind or a rough road to a certain extent.

eve autony chief executive Masanori Yonemitsu said “eve auto’s autonomous transportation service has been established with the slogan ‘Automation, starting today. Bringing autonomy to every factory’. eve auto is already in operation at nine actual production sites and warehouses.”

“eve auto is an unparalleled service that not only makes outdoor unmanned transportation possible but also connects fragmented sources of information, and transforms a factory into a safer and more productive environment, thereby changing how people work.” said Hajime Aota, Senior General Manager of New Venture Business Development & R&D Strategy Section, Technical Research & Development Centre, Yamaha Motor.

“I am very pleased to have been able to launch the eve auto service. It is an entirely new service in which reliability backed by vehicle and control technology and a proven track record that our group has cultivated are integrated with TIER IV’s fast-paced and cutting-edge technology. We will provide efficient solutions not only to production sites like ours but to other job sites as well.” Shinpei Kato, Founder \& CTO, TIER IV.