KEY POINTSPanasonic Electric Works and T2 launch Japan’s first trial linking road lighting with autonomous trucksAdjusted highway lighting lifts nighttime lane-marking recognition distance by more than twofold, reaching up to 2.3 timesT2 targets Level 4 trunk-route operations from fiscal 2027; Panasonic EW aims for highway deployment in the 2030s
Panasonic and T2 test autonomous truck coordination with road lighting. Note: Japanese text in the original image from press release has been translated into English by our editorial team.
Panasonic EW
Panasonic Electric Works and Japanese autonomous trucking startup T2 have begun what they describe as Japan’s first joint demonstration testing coordination between self-driving trucks and road lighting equipment, as the companies seek to improve nighttime expressway safety.
The trial used Panasonic EW’s existing lighting equipment with brightness and other settings adjusted to better suit the sensors mounted on T2’s autonomous trucks. The companies said the distance at which lane markings could be recognized during nighttime highway driving improved by more than twofold, with the maximum improvement reaching 2.3 times compared with using headlights alone.
The demonstration was conducted at night in January 2026 at the Japan Automobile Research Institute’s Shirosato Test Center in Ibaraki Prefecture. It used low-position road lighting equipment that Panasonic EW has already been introducing for expressway applications. In the test, a camera mounted on an autonomous truck traveling in the first lane quantitatively checked how well it could recognize multiple white lane lines marked on the course.
Panasonic EW plans to continue verification work with T2, including additional demonstrations, and aims to deploy newly developed lighting equipment on expressways in the 2030s based on the results of the project. The new system integrates sensors for roadside-vehicle coordination, with the goal of improving installation and maintenance efficiency while enabling the use of data gathered through Panasonic EW’s sensing technology, according to the release.
Panasonic EW supplies electrical equipment for residential, office, commercial and outdoor spaces, including road lighting. Its road-lighting business focuses on reducing glare, improving road-surface visibility and limiting the impact on surrounding environments.
T2 is developing autonomous trucks to address Japan’s shortage of truck drivers. The company aims to begin trunk-route transport services using Level 4 autonomous trucks from fiscal 2027 onward and started commercial operations in 2025 using Level 2 autonomous trucks. After achieving Level 4 operations, T2 plans to operate 2,000 trucks in the 2030s, the release said.
Japan’s logistics industry has been under pressure from a tightening driver supply, a challenge that has increased interest in autonomous trucking on long-haul routes. The companies’ trial focuses on expressway conditions at night, where camera-based recognition of lane markings is a basic requirement for automated driving.