An ITS road test track and a rail test track (ITS R&R field) are being developed to conduct practical research on road and rail vehicles. The full-scale railway test track (total length of 330 m) is equipped with straight lines, curves, constant curves (curve radius of 33.3 m), turnouts for double-flange wheels, level crossings, etc., and some of the tracks have grooved rails. The integrated operation of the ITS test track and the railway test track enables research on the integration of different transportation modes, such as the interaction between tram cars and automobiles, and the development of cooperative automated driving technology, including level crossings. The 1:10 scale rail test track can be used for running tests of model cars in straight lines, relaxed curves, and steady curves (curve radius 3.3 m), running tests of new bogies, tests to improve derailment safety, and tribological studies of wheel-rail systems, including wet environments.

The proving ground has an asphalt pavement, and can accommodate different types of experiments related to automobiles, motorcycles, aircrafts and others. We can conduct various experimental research in the field of Mechanical Engineering, Traffic Engineering, Ergonomics, and Acoustical Engineering. There is an experimental intersection with traffic lights installed to reproduce an actual road environment such as city road and railroad crossing. This allows us to conduct experiments that are difficult to perform in actual traffic environment. Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) research is initiated with the collaboration among industry, academia and government, to promote new safe driving assistance system, automated driving and V2X (Vehicle to Everything) related development.

In promoting the practical application of automated driving in public transportations and logistics systems, we have constructed a driving simulator specialized for large vehicles such as bus and heavy-duty truck, in order to carry out experiments involving dangerous situations and requirements of controlling experimental conditions. The driving simulator has a 6 axis motion device, and a visual system to reproduce a view of a large vehicle. Using the driving simulator, we are conducting studies on HMI (Human Machine Interface) and evaluation of social acceptance for the realization of automated driving in bus and truck systems for the next generation of traffic system.