JOSO, Ibaraki Pref.: Honda Motor Co. said Thursday that it will conduct demonstration tests of a self-driving electric vehicle and a logistic robot in Ibaraki Prefecture, eastern Japan, from mid-February.

The four-seater EV, named CiKoMa, can travel at speeds of up to 20 kilometers per hour. It will transport people between a “michi no eki” roadside rest station in the city of Joso and a strawberry-picking farm 850 meters away for free.

At the farm, people can take a walk with the WaPOCHI robot, which follows them by identifying their silhouette. It can carry cargoes weighing up to 30 kilograms.

Honda aims to collect data from the tests for use in product development.

Artificial intelligence is used in both the EV and the robot, enabling them to avoid obstacles and respond to gestures, such as hand waving.

The company plans to sell them to local governments.

“We want to improve the accuracy (of movements of the EV and the robot) by conducting more demonstration tests,” Yuji Yasui, executive chief engineer at Honda R&D Co., said.

JIJI Press