Robot-maker ZMP targets tractors, taxis and carts for elderly

Robot-maker ZMP Inc. is aiming to launch the first commercial level 3 automated bus operation in Japan at an airport in 2020. The Tokyo-based startup, which bills itself as the "robot of everything," has built a variety of contraptions ranging from delivery robots to autonomous forklifts. It plans to start marketing Japan's first fully autonomous single-seat electric vehicle, the Robocar Walk, in May, founder and CEO Hisashi Taniguchi said. Taniguchi expanded on his plans during a recent interview. Is it true ZMP is targeting a level 4 automated driving business by the Olympics? Yes, we are aiming for commercial operation of an unmanned level 4 autonomous vehicle.