DENSO To Open New Facility At Japan’s Haneda Airport For Automated Driving Technology Development And Testing

*image: Conceptual drawing. Source: Kajima Corporation’s website

DENSO Corp. has announced it will establish a new facility at Haneda Airport in Tokyo to develop and test automated driving technologies. The facility, which is expected to be complete by June 2020, will feature a building and proving ground for mobility systems R&D and will advance DENSO’s worldwide efforts to create a future that’s safer and more sustainable for all. This new location is part of the Haneda Airport Unused Land Zone 1 Redevelopment Project, a broader initiative led by Tokyo’s Ota City, DENSO and other entities, to transform underutilized space at the airport into a hub for leading-edge technology development and mixed-use cultural facilities.

This announcement follows DENSO’s establishment of its Global R&D Tokyo facility. In April 2018, an automated driving R&D office was established near Shinagawa Station in Minato City, Tokyo, to promote collaboration and open innovation with its development partners, which include automakers, universities, research institutes and startups. The new facility will include a building to develop prototypes and maintain test vehicles, and also a proving ground to conduct live, in-vehicle tests.

DENSO says this will enable the company to take an integrated approach to the development of automated driving in Tokyo because the new facility at Haneda Airport can develop and test prototypes based on automated driving technology planned, researched and developed by Global R&D Tokyo in Shinagawa.

The Haneda area is designated a National Strategic Special Zone, where a regulatory sandbox system is adopted to allow for field tests of advanced mobility technologies on public roads, including automated driving. In addition, the Haneda area in Ota City is a hotbed for developers, startups and manufacturers of new-age technologies and applications for a wide range of use, according to DENSO.

DENSO says it plans to utilize the National Strategic Special Zone system and work with manufacturers in Ota City to develop and test prototypes more seamlessly and speed development of automated driving technology.