Guy tried Japan’s tiniest self-driving AI taxi and was both confused and impressed

Japan is the home of some of the weirdest and most wonderful car creations ever, but this self-driving AI taxi might just be the smallest and most bizarre ‘cars’ ever.

While America loves making everything unnecessarily large, the Japanese have a fascination for doing everything smaller.

Your triple-stacked cheeseburgers with hash browns, bacon, and four different sauces vs neatly-rolled sushi morsels.

But we’ve now found the smallest Japanese car creation ever, as the borderline-legal self-driving AI taxi is as impressive as it is strange.

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This self-driving AI taxi in Japan is mindblowing

The Japanese have been renowned for their car production for decades, with impressive supercars in their portfolio, such as the Toyota Supra, Nissan Skyline, and Mazda MX-5, to name a few.

But recently they’ve been in the lab to cook up futuristic self-driving EV robotaxis, like something out of Total Recall.

This new AI taxi is the latest in a string of cool inventions, as it just about classifies as a car.

As highlighted by Tokyo Lens on YouTube, the AI taxi is roughly two feet high and serves almost like a piloted segway, allowing users to jump on and off to get to their destinations.

Inspired by garbage staff jumping on and off the truck, this self-driving invention has sensors all around it and is targeting inter-city travelers to nip across streets.

It’s very slow, so not road-worthy, but could be quite the oasis for tired legs.

Japanese futuristic taxi has a few setbacks

Not all is plain sailing with this ‘car’ though, as it technically isn’t legal.

Japanese law classifies the AI taxi as a ‘motor vehicle’ just as it does with electric bikes, as anything that doesn’t need to be pushed or cycled needs to have a license and a licensed driver.

It also costs the company twice as much money to run as it does to rent, throwing up some very questionable economic questions.

It also doesn’t quite match the average walking pace. While it’s perfect for those with mobility issues or people who have tired feet after a whole day in the metropolitan jungle that is Tokyo, it’s more of a gimmick than a useful tool for most.

Still, commenters have enjoyed seeing this robot in action.

One person who had tried it said, “I tried this last month in the town I live in! The people in my town and I absolutely loved it.”

Others pointed out that it would be perfect for pathway-based attractions such as zoos and gardens.

Japan’s work with AI and robotics will continue to play a huge part in travel, including cars and rail, where one Wall-E-looking AI creation is already improving the tracks.