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A venture firm and a major taxi company began trials of passenger-carrying autonomous taxi services on Monday with an eye on launching the full service around 2020 when Tokyo hosts the Olympics and the Paralympics.
ZMP Inc., a Tokyo-based developer of autonomous driving technology, and Hinomaru Kotsu Co., said they are the first in the world to offer autonomous taxi services to fare-paying passengers in the test through Sept. 8.
— Japan Times
Other tech companies and automakers have also been testing autonomous driving services in the U.S., Europe, and Japan. If the Tokyo RoboCar MiniVan trial is successful, officials hope to scale up the program to assist with the increased transportation demand during the 2020 Summer Olympics and... View full entry
Dignitaries at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games will obviously get the best seats--those made of wood--but ordinary common folk will have to make do with plastic. — Asahi Shimbun
Less than 1 percent of Tokyo's Olympic Stadium seats will be wooden. Those will be allocated for the best views of the opening and closing ceremonies, as well as track and field events. The country's timber industry has been advocating since 2016 to install wooden seats for all the spectators as a... View full entry
Tokyo-based Dynamic Map Planning will undertake the task of mapping out roadways in the highest detail to date (featuring such useful insights as curb location, lane height, and limits on turning), intended to be 20 times as precise as current maps [...]
The company will also lead the effort to equip Tokyo with digital infrastructure that will allow self-driving vehicles to pick up on factors that can change or appear in their surroundings as often as every few minutes or even seconds
— forbes.com
More autonomous driving news from around the world:Airbus promises autonomous flying taxis in the (very) near futureTesla Model S driver suffers fatal crash while using autopilot, in first known death involving an autonomous vehicleWould self-driving cars be useful to people living outside urban... View full entry
Tokyo 2020 Olympics organizers on Monday chose logo A — a stark indigo-and-white checkered circle — as the games’ replacement emblem after the original design was scrapped last year amid claims of plagiarism.
The Tokyo 2020 Logo Selection Committee chose the logo from a shortlist of four following a competition open to any resident of Japan aged over 18. Almost 15,000 entries were submitted.
The winning logo was designed by Asao Tokolo, a 46-year-old artist [...].
— japantimes.co.jp
"The design comprises 45 interconnecting pieces forming a checkered pattern known as ichimatsu moyou. Use of the color indigo is intended “to express a refined elegance and sophistication that exemplifies Japan.”"Previously: 2020 Tokyo Olympics panel launches nationwide call for new logo... View full entry
“In the design, I would like to say there are no similarities at all,” Kuma told reporters when asked about Hadid’s claims. [...]
“The conditions set for the competition mean that automatically some similarities emerge ... the concept is completely different, so it is absolutely a different building, despite the similarities”. [...]
Hadid’s office is reportedly consulting lawyers, and said it would “take legal action if our concerns are not promptly addressed to our satisfaction”.
— theguardian.com
For more on the contentious issue of architectural copyright and intellectual property, make sure to check out:"Never the Same River Twice" – Experimental preservation and architectural authorship with Jorge Otero-Pailos, on Archinect Sessions #47Should architecture strive for originality? Can... View full entry
The organisers of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games are refusing to pay a British architect for her designs for its main stadium unless she gives up the copyright and signs what amounts to a gagging order, it has been claimed.
Zaha Hadid Architects, which won the original contract to build a state-of-the-art national stadium in the Japanese capital, has reacted angrily to the attempt by the Japan Sports Council to effectively seize ownership of the copyrighted designs.
— the Telegraph
New details continue to emerge from the dispute between Zaha Hadid Architects and the organizers of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which is rapidly shaping up as one of the most acrimonious conflicts that the profession has witnessed in decades.According to the Telegraph, the Japan Sports Council (JSC)... View full entry
Now that the cat is out of the bag and the Japanese government has officially announced Kengo Kuma's stadium proposal as the new winning design for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, all eyes are on Zaha Hadid Architects, design firm of the voluptuous initial winning stadium spaceship which was ultimately... View full entry
The government on Tuesday picked a design by architect Kengo Kuma for the new National Stadium, a building that is expected to become the centerpiece of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
One of two short-listed entries and identified until now only as design A, Kuma’s plan was a joint submission in partnership with construction giant Taisei Corp.
The competing design, identified as design B, was by architect Toyo Ito [...].
— japantimes.co.jp
Last week's rumors turned out to be true - the winning Design A was indeed developed by Kengo Kuma & Associates, beating out Toyo Ito's less successful Design B.UPDATE: Zaha Hadid issues disappointed statement on Tokyo Olympic Stadium decisionPreviously in the Archinect news:Kengo Kuma &... View full entry
'We’re expecting at least 10,000 applications this time,' said Ryohei Miyata, head of the selection committee.
Only 104 applications were accepted for the previous competition.
Applicants this time only have to be 18 or older and a resident of Japan. The committee will accept an entry by a group if the leader of the group meets the age and resident criteria, meaning that people younger than 18 can still take part.
— The Japan Times
After the Tokyo Olympics organizing committee ran into accusations of plagiarism with their first logo for the Games, the committee is at it again with a second call for submissions. But this time around, they're inviting virtually all residents of Japan to submit their ideas for a new logo... View full entry
Tokyo-based Robot Taxi ... is still on track to start field tests of its driverless taxi service in one region of Japan by the end of next March [...]
The company, a joint venture between DeNA (one of Japan’s mobile internet pioneers) and ZMP (a robotics firm; tagline “Robot of Everything”) is not building its own cars from scratch. Instead, it’s focusing on adding driverless capabilities to existing cars and designing, creating, and marketing the taxi service.
— qz.com
More on the lead-up to Toky's 2020 Olympic Games: Zaha Hadid ineligible to participate in Tokyo Stadium design-build competitionJapanese government hopes to cap Olympic stadium costs at US$1.28 billionZaha's Tokyo Olympic Stadium cancelled – Abe calls for a redesign from scratch View full entry
In the headache-inducing whirlwind regarding Japan's New National Stadium for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Zaha Hadid Architects and Japanese engineering company Nikken Sekkei announced their ineligibility to participate in the design-and-build competition for the stadium's redesign. Why? Because they... View full entry
The government hopes to cap the cost of building the main stadium for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics at ¥155 billion, much lower than the ¥252 billion projected under a recently scrapped plan [...].
The government intends to make sure that the stadium will be built by April 2020. But given the International Olympic Committee’s request that the venue be built by January of that year, it plans to ask a yet-to-be-named contractor to propose shortening its construction schedule, the sources said.
— japantimes.co.jp
Read more about the troubled New National Stadium Tokyo in the Archinect news:Not over yet: Zaha Hadid releases 23-minute film pushing for Tokyo Olympic StadiumAre uncompetitive Japanese contractors to blame for Zaha's New National Stadium budget blowout?Zaha Hadid reportedly not giving up on... View full entry
In an architectural "hail Mary" move, Zaha Hadid Architects put out a 23-minute video stating their case for Japan to keep their embroiled design for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Stadium. When Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe announced approximately five weeks ago that ZHA's design was being dropped... View full entry
Japan’s Sport Council on Thursday awarded a contract to design and construct a centerpiece, billion-dollar national stadium that forms a key part of Tokyo’s bid to host the 2020 Olympic Games to lauded U.K. firm Zaha Hadid Architects. — blogs.wsj.com
Previously: New National Stadium Japan Competition Unveils 11 Finalists View full entry
Eleven finalists have been announced today in the international design competition for the New National Stadium Japan, including design heavy hitters like Zaha Hadid Architects, SANAA, UNStudio, and Toyo Ito. The finalists, announced by the Japan Sport Council (JSC) and jury chair Tadao Ando, were selected from 46 entries to proceed to the second and final competition round. The final winner will be selected on November 7 and officially announced later that month. — bustler.net
