Back in July, the Japanese government outlined an intriguing idea to connect major cities with what sounded like a giant

Autonomous, self-sorting cargo highways outlined for Japan

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2024-11-10 21:30:06

Back in July, the Japanese government outlined an intriguing idea to connect major cities with what sounded like a giant "conveyor belt" for cargo. Now we have a clearer picture of what that “Auto Flow Road” will look like.

Trucks are the go-to for moving cargo between and within cities, but they’re not a perfect solution. They’re big and noisy, interrupt traffic flow, spew carbon dioxide at alarming rates, and require a lot of human drivers.

That last point is the one that the Japanese government seems most concerned about currently. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) expects that by 2030, the transportation industry will see a capacity shortfall of 34% compared to now.

The Auto Flow Road project is designed to tackle that problem. Essentially it would be a dedicated highway for autonomous cargo pods, letting them shuttle goods day and night without getting in the way of the good old-fashioned human-driven traffic. These lanes would make use of existing road space, such as shoulders or medians, and sections may even be built into underground tunnels.

Depots would be built in major prefectures, and these would be largely autonomous too. When cargo arrives at its nearest depot, autonomous forklifts unload it and pack them into the pods. These then drive themselves down the Auto Flow Road to the depot closest to their destination. From there, trucks (or maybe drones or other vehicles) would carry them the rest of the way.