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How Gaming Technology May Help Taxi Drivers in Japan


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The app was developed using the expertise the company had accumulated from running multiplayer online video games.

Tokyo-based DeNA has developed a service that uses artificial intelligence to direct cruising taxi drivers to streets where they are most likely to find customers.

Credit: DeNA

Tokyo, Japan-based DeNA has developed a program to direct cruising taxi drivers to streets where they are most likely to find customers.

The platform differs from other technologies that aim to connect drivers and customers because it provides personalized verbal guidance, as if a long-time cab driver was giving advice on where fares are likely to be standing and what rival drivers may be doing to get there first.

DeNA developed the app from its experience running multiplayer online video games, in which each player responds to the actions of others who are constantly moving.

In addition, the DeNA program draws on data from partner companies about nearby taxis to make rapid judgments tailored to a specific driver that can be updated quickly.

Said DeNA engineer Kazutaka Era, "Making sure it's reliable and timely even when the number of vehicles wanting to receive the data increases a lot—that is what game companies do when running online games."

From The Wall Street Journal
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Abstracts Copyright © 2019 SmithBucklin, Washington, DC, USA


 

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