Electronic giant Sony Corporation announced on Tuesday that it will build a ride-hailing system for Japanese commuters. This ride-hailing system will be launched during this year’s spring season, according to popular website Techcrunch. However, the most noteworthy thing about this ride-hailing network would be that it will be completely based on Artificial intelligence (AI) and Sony will be collaborating with five Taxi companies to pull off this ambitious AI based project.
The names of these five taxi companies are as follows: Daiwa Motor Transportation, Hinomaru Kotsu, Kokusai Motorcars, Green Cab and Checker Cab Group. The AI technology, which obviously would be the main feature of this ride-hailing network, will manage taxi dispatches and predict ride-hailing demands based on critical factors like weather, traffic, and local events.
Sony ‘s service won’t be only one in the Japanese market that will be based on AI technology. Earlier this month, JapanTaxi and auto giant Toyota announced a partnership venture to commence a ride-hailing network based on AI. Following the announcement, JapanTaxi claimed that it has already taken a big leap in the market traction. It claims that 60,000 taxis have been registered on its network, which makes it a market leader among Japanese taxi-dispatch apps.
Another fierce competitor for Sony would be the global ride-hailing giant Uber. Interestingly, Sony’s announcement to start an AI-based ride-hailing network comes almost a day after Uber’s new chief Dara Khosrowshahi said that his company would make a renewed bid to make a further push into the Japanese market. Tough Japanese rule with regards to hiring non-professional drivers has led to the tepid growth rate for Uber in Japan. Owing to this tough rule, Uber has been unable to expand its service across Tokyo and other prominent cities. This has literally forced the ride-hailing giant to focus on smaller Japanese towns, where the market is comparatively less lucrative.