Japan Post aims to construct digital maps with Innoviz’s lidar technology, paving the way for smart city services such as autonomous driving and unstaffed delivery.

Israeli firm Innoviz Technologies provides automotive-grade lidar sensors and perception software. Under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Internal Affairs & Communications, Japan Post offers postal and logistics services as well as banking and life and non-life insurance agency services.

Japan Post installed InnovizOne lidar sensors on its postal delivery cars this month during Scrum Ventures’ SmartCityX conference in San Francisco, which brought together more than 150 founders, VCs and stage-agnostic start-ups from across the globe.

The InnovizOne equipped delivery vehicles will generate detailed digital maps that gather information such as changes in roads and buildings along delivery routes. These detailed maps will serve as foundational data to enable services for Japan’s residents, such as automated driving.

“We greatly appreciate such an innovative approach full of possibilities to solve local issues across the country,” said Yoshihiro Gomi, executive officer at Japan Post. “We hope that the combination of our assets and InnovizOne lidar sensor will lead to the creation of a new business.”

The smart cities market is expanding rapidly, and autonomous on-road delivery vehicles are a near-term priority for cities that are increasingly looking for efficient ways to move people and goods. The Japanese market for smart city technologies is expected to grow from nearly $45m in 2021 to over $93m by 2027.

“Cities are evolving and re-emerging stronger than ever from the pandemic,” said Michael Proman, managing director at Scrum Ventures. “The collaborations between our Japanese partners and participating stage-agnostic start-ups transcend multiple smart city categories and represent some of the most thoughtful innovations being deployed around the world. We’re thrilled to help further these efforts.”

David Oberman, vice president for Asia at Innoviz Technologies, added: “Our innovative collaboration with Japan Post highlights the versatility of the Innoviz lidar and this is another example of new ways to use lidar in smart cities. We are grateful for the resources and support from Scrum Ventures to accelerate deployment of our InnovizOne lidar sensors for constructing digital maps and bringing value to Japan residents.”

The SmartCityX programme aims to explore innovations that can unlock value through partnership with companies, local governments and start-ups. Thirteen Japanese corporations representing a variety of industries took part in this year’s event.

InnovizOne was selected by Japan Post due to its ability to generate precise, high-resolution 3D point cloud data required for building the digital map. Following a successful demonstration last month, the two companies have begun to verify the needs and use of Japan Post data.

Japan Post operates postal services and post offices in Japan, aiming to create value in cooperation with companies outside the Japan Post group by combining its post offices and delivery networks with digital technologies.

Operating across the USA, Europe and Asia, Innoviz has been selected by premium car brands for use in consumer vehicles as well as by other commercial and industrial companies for various use cases.