The text of the Dentsu Inc. news release distributed on August 7 is as follows.
August 7, 2018
─ Industry-Academia Collaboration Agreement Signed with Gunma University ─
Dentsu Inc. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President: Toshihiro Yamamoto) has established a Mobility Project Team to accelerate research and development of next-generation communication platforms. This initiative aims to prepare for the near-future mobility society, where possibilities expand through autonomous driving technology and MaaS (Mobility as a Service: a new transportation system based on service combinations rather than vehicle ownership).
The company has long focused on the potential for new industries and advertising/content businesses brought by cutting-edge information and communication technologies and autonomous driving technologies, conducting various research initiatives. As part of these efforts, Dentsu has signed an "Industry-Academia Collaboration Agreement for Research on Next-Generation Mobility Society Implementation" with the National University Corporation Gunma University (President: Hiroshi Hiratsuka, hereinafter "Gunma University") today. Moving forward, based on this agreement, we will collaborate with Gunma University's Research and Industry-Academia Collaboration Promotion Organization, Next-Generation Mobility Social Implementation Research Center (*), to conduct research on communication platforms and methods for delivering advertising and content in the near-future mobility society.
As advanced technologies like IoT and AI continue to evolve, MaaS is expected to have a significant impact on society beyond just driving. We anticipate this will open new business opportunities for our group, including collaborations with companies across diverse industries and the development of solutions.
※ A center dedicated to researching, developing, and implementing driverless, fully autonomous vehicles and their societal deployment.
In collaboration with industry and local communities, it aims to achieve commercialization of fully autonomous driving in limited areas by 2020.
End
Dentsu Inc. News Release
http://www.dentsu.co.jp/news/release/2018/0807-009580.html
