NTT Mobility Tests Autonomous Driving Safety With Aioi Dowa

NTT Mobility and Aioi Dowa Begin Safety Evaluation Trial

NTT Mobility autonomous driving safety trial will combine autonomous-driving data with insurance telematics data to improve methods for evaluating safety and identifying risks in traffic environments. NTT Mobility, Inc., an NTT Group company providing autonomous driving services, is conducting the joint trial with Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance Co., Ltd. The companies will combine their respective data and know-how to better understand autonomous driving characteristics and assess potential risks. The initiative focuses on driving behavior that may be difficult to capture or evaluate through autonomous driving systems alone, providing additional information for safety assessment.

Telematics Device Will Collect Demonstration Vehicle Data

Aioi Nissay Dowa will install its telematics device in a demonstration vehicle used by NTT Mobility Inc for Level-2 autonomous driving testing in Musashino City in September. Level-2 autonomous driving in this trial refers to a highly advanced driver assistance system, with the vehicle generating driving data that can be collected and analyzed during testing. The telematics device is intended to provide an additional source of information about vehicle operation. Combining this information with autonomous-driving data allows the companies to examine vehicle behavior from multiple data perspectives during traffic-environment testing.

Comparing Autonomous Driving and Telematics Data

The joint trial will compare driving data generated by the autonomous-driving vehicle with telematics data already held by Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance Co Ltd. This comparison is designed to visualize autonomous-driving-specific driving characteristics that may be difficult to identify using autonomous driving systems by themselves. The companies will also analyze potential risks associated with surrounding traffic environments. By combining the two data sources, the trial seeks to provide a broader basis for understanding how autonomous-driving vehicles behave in actual traffic conditions and strengthen the methods used to evaluate their safety.

Data-Based Approach Targets Autonomous Driving Risks

The trial is focused on improving the evaluation process rather than simply collecting additional vehicle information. Autonomous-driving systems can provide detailed information about vehicle operation, while insurance telematics data offers another perspective that can be used for comparison. Bringing these datasets together may help identify characteristics and environmental risks that are not readily visible through a single system. For Japan's developing autonomous-driving services, the approach could provide a more comprehensive way to assess safety during demonstrations and testing. The companies' combined expertise is therefore central to the trial's objective of enhancing safety evaluation methods.

Musashino Testing Will Support Further Analysis

The demonstration in Musashino City provides the practical setting for collecting the data required by the joint evaluation. During the September testing period, the telematics-equipped vehicle will generate information that can subsequently be compared with the autonomous-driving data collected by NTT Mobility. The resulting analysis is expected to help the companies visualize driving characteristics specific to autonomous operation and examine potential traffic-related risks. The trial therefore connects real-world vehicle testing with data analysis, allowing the participating companies to refine how autonomous-driving safety can be evaluated using information from both vehicle systems and telematics.

Industry Impact & Outlook

The trial could strengthen autonomous-driving safety evaluation by combining vehicle-generated information with telematics data from an insurance perspective, potentially giving developers and insurers a broader view of driving characteristics and traffic-environment risks. Its relevance is particularly tied to the practical assessment of Level-2 autonomous driving in Japan, where real-world testing can reveal characteristics that individual autonomous-driving systems may not fully capture. The next step will be analysis of the collected data and evaluation of whether the combined approach provides useful additional insight, which could influence how safety assessment methods are refined for future autonomous-driving demonstrations and services.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is NTT Mobility's joint autonomous driving safety trial with Aioi Nissay Dowa?
The trial combines autonomous-driving vehicle data and insurance telematics data to improve methods for evaluating driving characteristics and potential traffic-environment risks. NTT Mobility will use a demonstration vehicle for Level-2 autonomous driving testing in Musashino City, with Aioi Nissay Dowa's telematics device installed to collect and analyze additional vehicle data. The companies will compare these datasets to visualize autonomous-driving-specific characteristics that may be difficult to evaluate through autonomous driving systems alone. The resulting analysis is intended to enhance the overall approach to autonomous-driving safety evaluation.