Research on AHS cruise-assist systems is being carried out vigorously in countries around the world with government support. I have identified the significance and distinguishing features of our own organization within the context of that worldwide activity, and summarized them under these three points. (Figure 1)

Figure 1

[1] Results from continuing program and challenge of combined government and private-sector projects

[2] Advance vision and action of research on cooperative vehicle-highway system and the vanguard of world movements

[3] Development of technologies to form a foundation for road informatization

  I have divided the results into two parts, the results from research aimed at practical application, and the results of research into basic technology. Reports on specific results have already been given, so I will simply list the headings. There are seven headings under results of research aimed at practical application. (Figure 2)

Figure 2

  Items (1) through (4) are results from the so-called upstream process, while (5) through (7) are results from specific systems aimed at practical application. There are five items for major results of the research into basic technology. (Figure 3)

Figure 3

  Work on intersection systems in (1) did not proceed beyond identification of issues: The problem of how a human interface should communicate to the driver the complex circumstances of crossing behavior by large numbers of vehicles. The problem of overweighting the load on infrastructure when allocating road-vehicle sensing functions in the same way as for roads with uninterrupted flow field. I would like our future research to address these issues.

  The number of patent applications submitted came to 264 in Japan and 13 overseas. (Figure 4)

  We have established very close exchanges with the major organizations in other countries. With Joint Tests and Demo2000 as the stimulus, the occasions for exchange have increased greatly, and I find that the substance of the exchanges has also become more productive. The number of papers we presented at the major academic conferences in Japan and overseas came to 194. Of these, 80 papers were presented at the ITS World Congress.

Figure 4

  The research on advanced cruise-assist highway systems that the AHSRA has been conducting continuously since the beginning was verified through proving tests last fiscal year, and has been organized in a consistent order. To be precise, field operation tests on urban expressways and year-round testing of sensors has been carried over into the present fiscal year. Overall, however, the project has been brought to a major new stage, and we are referring to the past seven-year period as the first phase. Starting this year, we will set out new topics and initiate new research projects. Therefore, we will refer to this as the second phase.

  I have listed two items under the framework for the phase 2 program. (Figure 5)

Figure 5

  The first is assigning incentives for research programs. Up to last fiscal year, the intellectual property rights acquired as a result of research were assigned to the government. From this fiscal year, however, it has been decided through the good offices of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to apply Article 30 of the Law on Special Measures for Industrial Revitalization, which is a Japanese version of the Bayh-Dole Act. This means that patents acquired through research will belong to the discoverer or discovering organization, even in the case of research done on contract for the government, and this will be a major incentive for member corporations.

  This change will require AHSRA members to take greater initiative in their activities and to clarify their responsibilities more than before. However, I consider this to be an entirely reasonable commitment for members of this organization.

  The second phase, therefore, will involve a relative shift of weight to the private-sector side in the research framework. This is due partly to the wishes of the government side, and at the same time it is something to be welcomed by us on the private-sector side, and I hope to see development proceed along those lines.

  The second item has to do with the subject of research. Raising the level of safety was a major topic during the first phase, and now the results of that research will be taken into account in determining new subjects of research. Improving the safety of road traffic will continue to be a crucial topic, but beyond that, I hope to see proposals for research that actively addresses social needs, such as responses to the aging of society, making road traffic flow more smoothly, and so on.

  As to the systems that will be targeted for development, I expect that cooperative vehicle-highway systems will continue to be a central focus. I would like to see us continue with research programs aimed toward developing feasible systems with a high possibility of actual deployment.

  Here you see a chart of tentative ideas for future development (Figure 6). The vertical axis shows the areas of road management, safety (intersections and road sections of uninterrupted flow field), and then smooth flow, efficiency, and the environment. The horizontal axis shows the support levels of information support, operational support, and automation. Please note that order. This does not represent the order of actual implementation. Once the application location is delimited, the automation level is also already within the realm of practical application. The division here, therefore, should be understood as for convenience.

  Organizing them in this way within this space, we can envision various large trends, for example, effectively utilizing existing resources by applying IT technology, providing mobility to the elderly, increasing the sophistication and efficiency of road management, and so on.

  Support for safety in intersections will be another very important topic in the future. I would like to see research on various systems proceed with a focus on practical feasibility, in particular, and taking account of the research results from the first phase. In any event, I am convinced that research on cruise-assist systems based on cooperative vehicle-highway holds great potential as a method for resolving road traffic problems. Consequently, we intend to formulate basic plans and implement research studies during the present fiscal year, and expect to begin full-fledged research activity in the next fiscal year or thereafter.

Figure 6

  This is a schematic view of the environment for promotion of ITS and AHS research and development (Figure 7). The beneficiaries at first will be the users and regional communities, so their needs and requirements form the starting point for our program.

  Next, on the promoting side, the government players are the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and three other government bodies. These will be playing a guiding role. Under academia, major roles are played by the civil engineering, automotive, and infocommunications fields, and recently also by law, psychology, and so on. For those of us in industry, participation will involve a variety of areas, including automotive, electronics, and heavy industry. In a still larger perspective, we see development in the context of global activities by Japan, America, and Europe.

  ITS and AHS are being promoted by large numbers of players and a variety of stakeholders from these four areas as well as from their various inter-agency, interdisciplinary, inter-industry, and international boundary regions. This is one of the factors making ITS promotion difficult. In any case, however, I also understand this to be the structure by which these many players will coordinate, cooperate, and also compete as we go forward.

  Approximately ten years have passed since ITS research on a worldwide scale began, and there have been major milestones along the way. Now we are at another of those milestones, as we enter this second phase. It is the long-held expectation and desire of industry that research results will generate business. Now the Law on Special Measures for Industrial Revitalization will be applied to this program starting this fiscal year, and partly in response to those expectations, I would like to see these research projects develop with deliberate attention to the creation of new industry.

  To that end, it is necessary to reconfirm the placement of the AHSRA and the situation of private-sector industry in this promotion environment, as well as the allocation of their roles.

  There are various questions we must consider: What should be the relationship between the public services and the private-sector services that are the main objects of our program? How should the content of the various road traffic services be improved systematically? And how should we view the AHS business model? I would like us to be exploring the direction to take in commercializing our activities in these ways, and taking full advantage of the precious experience we have acquired in the seven years of this joint public-private project, as we take up the challenge before us.

  Finally, I wish to express my profound gratitude, again, for the valuable guidance and significant support that the AHSRA has received since its founding from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and many other parties concerned. In conclusion, I would like to ask for their further continued guidance and support as we enter on our new program in this fiscal year.

Figure 7