Transport Minister Rachel Maclean said: "The UK is well-placed as a science superpower to lead the world in this area and I'm delighted to support projects that drive green innovation, promote a clean transport future and help the economy." William Sachiti, founder of Academy of Robotics, claimed: "Kar-go's first deliveries represent a key milestone for the wider automotive industry." The firm says the Kar-go system is "optimised to autonomously drive on un-marked roads making the vehicle perfect for solving the challenge of last mile deliveries in residential areas as well as urban environments". DON'T MISS: Driverless cars come with legal risks as'it remains to be seen' who to blame for crashes [INSIGHT] Microsoft Teams will stop working for millions of users this month - are you affected?

Japan Post Co. will conduct a trial of self-driving delivery cars on public roads in Tokyo next week, with an aim of introducing a fleet of the vehicles by 2020 to cope with driver shortages. Ahead of the trial, the company held a ceremony at its headquarters in Tokyo on Wednesday and demonstrated the self-driving vehicle's capabilities on a nearby public road. Japan Post President Kunio Yokoyama said at the ceremony that the company has a "social responsibility" to offer delivery services in a sustainable manner. "The introduction of self-driving vehicles is a pressing agenda," he said. In the trial, an autonomous vehicle will depart from the company's headquarters in the central Tokyo district of Kasumigaseki and drive about 2 kilometers to a post office in the Ginza neighborhood, stopping at another post office en route.