Artificial intelligence is going to control on-demand bus services in Japan

The Mitsubishi Corporation has set up a joint venture company that will use artificial intelligence (AI) to control on-demand bus services in Japan. The new company, called Next Mobility, has been established by Mitsubishi and the Nishi-Nippon Railroad Company, a major Japanese bus operator. The joint venture will start a one-year trial in April at Island City, in the Higashi-ward of Fukuoka City. In a statement Wednesday, Mitsubishi said that the AI would be used to automatically generate routes, in real time, based on passenger requests that are made through a smartphone app. Deep learning will be used to collate "operational data" on both traffic conditions and passenger destinations.