Downloading data, posting analysis results can be done from the information page of each division.



Overview
While some say that Moore’s Law, a rule of thumb in the field of IT technology that has been playing an important role in development of IT, has been stagnating, it is expected that demand for IoT devices that are able to immediately response to users’ commands will grow amid the arrival of the IoT society. In this trend, industries have been requesting the realization of innovative AI edge computing, a technology that enables handling such response taking AI technologies.

Against this backdrop, METI decided to embark on a contest program titled AI Edge Contest aiming to discover outstanding computer technologies, human resources and ideas as well as to encourage promising new human resources to enter these fields for the purpose of establishment of innovative AI edge computing technology. Under this program, entries will use real data and compete in developing solutions to challenges by focusing on future implementations.

In the first contest this year, entries will focus on a subject titled “autonomous driving and mobility service,” one of the priority fields that Japan should tackle under the “Connected Industries” policy, and will compete with each other in accuracy of detecting target objects in images for image recognition, a technology indispensable for the realization of autonomous driving technology.

METI plans to continuously conduct a series of contests under this program targeting not only algorithms and other software, but also hardware and implementation thereof, as part of its efforts for achievement of innovative AI edge computing technology.

Division
The contest will include two divisions: Object Detection and Segmentation. Contestants may only participate in one division.

DivisionObject n Detection DivisionSegmentation Division
TaskCreate an algorithm to detect a rectangular region including an object from a vehicle front camera image.
Create an algorithm to segment at the pixel level the region corresponding to an object from a vehicle front camera image.
Provided data(Train/Test) Vehicle front camera image
(Train) Labeled rectangular region of an object
(Train) Image meta information (route / time of day)		(Train/Test) Vehicle front camera image
(Train) Split-labeled region corresponding to an object at the pixel level
(Train) Image meta information (route / time of day)
Awards*

1st Prize: The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry Commerce Information Policy Bureau director award / The Extreme Edge Award / The 1st Prize Trophy / 500,000 yen / NVIDIA TITAN V

2nd Prize: The Extreme Edge Award / The 2nd Prize Trophy / 300,000 yen / NVIDIA TITAN V

3rd Prize: The Extreme Edge Award / The 3rd Prize Trophy / 100,000 yen / Google Cloud Platform Coupon (100,000 yen)

Idea Award: Idea Award Trophy / 100,000 yen

1st Prize: The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry Commerce Information Policy Bureau director award / The Extreme Edge Award / The 1st Prize Trophy / 500,000 yen / NVIDIA TITAN V

2nd Prize: The Extreme Edge Award / The 2nd Prize Trophy / 300,000 yen / NVIDIA TITAN V

3rd Prize: The Extreme Edge Award / The 3rd Prize Trophy / 100,000 yen / Google Cloud Platform Coupon (100,000 yen)

Idea Award: Idea Award Trophy / 100,000 yen

Objects IdentifiedCar, Pedestrian, Truck, Bicycle, Signal, Signs
Car, Pedestrian, Signal, Lane
Evaluation　Method・Quantitative evaluation based on mAP@IoU=0.75
・Qualitative evaluation based on model document		・Quantitative evaluation based on IoU
・Qualitative evaluation based on model document

* As other benefits,  Participation in the Japan Automotive AI Challenge, where algorithms developed by participants will be installed in self-driving go-karts and used in a test-track competition. Up to Four teams, comprising top-placing persons who wish to participate, can take part in the Challenge.Please see the Committe・Other for details.

* The idea award is only for report submitters. Also, there may be no applicable persons.





Evaluation Function
・Object Detection division evaluators will use the function MAP @ IoU = 0.75, and Segmentation division evaluators will use the Intersection over Union (IoU) method.
・Please visit the individual division's pages for further details.


Determination of winners 

1.Final scorings and rankings will be determined using correct data sets that differ from those used for the contest. The leaderboard display (ranks and scores) will automatically change from running scores to final evaluation scores once the contest has ended.

2.Regarding evaluation-based rankings, the contestant who applied first for participation in the contest will be ranked higher in the case of an identical (tied) score.

3.The secretariat will contact the winner candidate. The candidate will either choose to make their own submission data, source code and other relevant items be licensed under an Open Source Initiative approved license (www.opensource.org) or not. If you can not grant this license, you will not be eligible to win prize. 

4.Subject to the economic burden at the secretariat and guaranteeing that there is no infringement of the right, the following are required to determine winners:
 ・model source code
 ・Trained model
 ・Procedure description document enabling reproduction of the prediction process (must clearly explain preprocessing, learning, and prediction processes. When using pre-trained models, APIs, data other than provided data etc, also specify its source (location of data, link of thesis etc))
・Computer/equipment operating environment information, including OS version, software utilized and analysis methods
・Random number seed (if Random Forest or similar was used to generate random numbers)
・Degree of prediction model contribution for all explanatory variables (when using a method that enables calculation of degree of prediction)
・Insights gained through data interpretation, manipulation and modeling 

 5.During the reproducibility evaluation period, the contestant will be disqualified from award eligibility in any of the following cases:
・The contestant does not respond within the specified timeframe to contact from, or a request/demand from, the contest administrative office regarding contest-related procedures
・The contestant fails to adhere to participant requirements, rules, etc.
・The model's prediction results cannot be reproduced
・The contestant's approach cannot be used for prediction with new images

6.We will select winners from those who can confirm the reproducibility.

Evaluation of ideas
Based on the submitted report, the idea award is decided by the review board.

System Utilization

・Each person is limited to one account only. However, team-based participation is allowed as long as the team uses only one account.(The team will designate a representative from among its members and post analytical results via the account of such representative.) If you are going to join the team, please do the following procedure.
　1.All members of the team must sign up to SIGNATE as users.
　2.The representative of the team will send his/her own email address, as well as those of all members of the team via the Inquiry Form.(https://signate.jp/inquiry)
・You may submit a maximum of 5 entries per day.
・Creating multiple teams or belong to more than one team, increasing the maximum number of submissions and acts such as searching for models is prohibited.

Information Handlinjg
・Privately sharing code or data outside of teams is not permitted.
・However, It's okay to share code if made available to all participants on the forums.

Data Usage
・If it is a method that can verify reproducibility free of charge, we will not restrict the use of pre-trained models, APIs, data other than provided data, etc.
・For example, modification of train data (including manual rewriting of labels etc) is also possible.

Implementation Method
・Divide source code in three parts as shown below (preprocess, train and predict), and carry out implementation for each.(This is not required unless there are unavoidable grounds)
1.preprocess
Module that reads supplied data, carries out preprocessing, and outputs each file in a format that can be input into the model. Divide into files for learning and files for evaluation ("get_train_data" and "get_test_data" or similar), and define a function for preprocessing.
2.train
　Module that reads files created in step 1 to enable model learning. Define a function that can output the learning-complete model, amount of characteristic and cross validation assessment results.
3.predict
　Module that reads the test data created in step 1 and model created in step 2 and outputs prediction results in file format.

Host：Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry
Co-host：New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) / National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology
Support：IEEE Japan Office / Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan, Inc. / The Japanese Society for Artificial Intelligence / The Society of Instrument and Control Engineers / The Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers / The Japan Society for Precision Engineering
Sponsor： NVIDIA Corporation / Morpho, Inc. / Digital Media Professionals Inc. / DENSO Corporation / SAKURA Internet Inc. / Fixstars Autonomous Technologies / Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Insurance Inc. / NEC Corporation / Sony Corporation / Panasonic Corporation / SoftBank Corp./ Google Japan LLC / Dynamic Map Platform Co., Ltd. / Mitsubishi Electric Corporation / Toshiba Electronic Devices & Storage Corporation / Renesas Electronics Corporation / Tier IV, Inc. / IHS Markit, Ltd. / Toyota Research Institute Advanced Development, Inc.


Contest advisories
Takeo Kanade　UA and Helen Whitaker Professor at Carnegie Mellon University
Hiroaki Kitano　CEO of Sony Computer Science Laboratories
James Kuffner　CEO of Toyota Research Institute Advanced Development, Inc.
Junichi Tsujii　Director of Artificial Intelligence Research Center at the National
Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology
Junichi Miyakawa　Vice President and CTO of SoftBank Corp


Review board Members
Takeo Kanade　UA and Helen Whitaker Professor at Carnegie Mellon University
Yutaka Sato　National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology
Ambai Mitsuru　Denso IT Laboratory, Inc.
Kohei Ozaki　Recruit Technologies Co., Ltd.


Preparing and managing committee
Hiroaki Kitano　Sony Computer Science Laboratories
Eisaku Ohbuchi　Digital Media Professionals, Inc.
Kohei Ozaki　Recruit Technologies Co., Ltd.
Shinpei Kato　Tokyo University
Jun Kuchii　Accenture Japan Ltd.
Yutaka Sato　National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology
Naoki Suganuma　Kanazawa University
Hisashi Takemura　Renesas Electronics Corporation
Hisashi Taniguchi　ZMP, Inc.
Hironobu Tanba　SoftBank Corporation
Hirokazu Nishio　Mitou Foundation
Yoshiki Ninomiya　Nagoya University　
Masaki Hiraga　Morpho, Inc.
Hironobu Fujiyoshi　Chubu University
Hiroaki Matsumoto　Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation
Hiroshi Miyata　Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd.


Japan Automotive AI​ Challenge
The Japan Automotive AI Challenge, hosted by the Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan, Inc. (JSAE), will be held on March 23,24 2019 at Kashiwa Campus, Tokyo University.

AI Edge Contest winners(up to 4 teams) will be held at The University of Tokyo Kashiwa Campus over the weekend on March 23 and 24, 2019. Up to Four teams, comprising top-placing persons from the Object Detection Category and Segmentation Category who wish to take part, will participate in the Challenge.
Algorithms developed by contestants will be integrated into self-driving car (autonomous car) programs and, after digital map data creation, sensor adjustments and other preparations are complete, will be put to the test in self-driving go-karts. These vehicles will be run on a test track with various challenges to be completed by the self-driving systems, and rankings will be determined based on vehicle driving performance.

Also, from March 16 to 22 2019, we will use the electric cart to race on the Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, Echinoshima campus with official training period. Schedule is to be adjusted according to the needs of the team's circumstances.

The University of Tokyo Kashiwa Campus, 5-1-5 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture



Open Source
You will license your winning Submission and the source code used to generate the Submission under an Open Source Initiative-approved license (see www.opensource.org) that in no event limits commercial use of such code or model containing or depending on such code. As a reference, we will post a comparison table of representative open source writers.

License 
RequiredPermitted
Forbidden
Apache License 2.0 (Apache-2.0)Display copyright, Explicit change placementCommercial use, Modification, Distribution, Sub license, Patent grantUse trademark, Liability exemption
BSD License: See 3-clause BSD License and 2-clause BSD LicenseDisplay copyrightCommercial use, Modification, Distribution, Sub license
Use trademark, Liability exemption
GNU General Public License version 3 (GPL-3.0)Display copyright, Explicit change placement, Explicit sourceCommercial use, Modification, Distribution, Patent grant
Liability exemption,  Sub license
MIT License (MIT)Display copyrightCommercial use, Modification, Distribution, Sub license
Liability exemption

Disclosure policy

As a general rule, in accordance with Article 4, Paragraph 1 of the terms of participation, diclosing any contents such as insights and deliverables transmitted through the information or data provided by our company in relation to this competition is not permitted, however, only after the completion of this competition and for non-commercial purposes, it will be possible to disclose the contents within the score of the table below
Model *1
Public
Analysis results *2
Public
Public : Posting to social media sites, blogs and source repositories, and citing to papers
Restricted : Using in a limited range from research, education to seminars, where many unspecified people cannot access
*1 Execution unit source code and learned models
*2 The insights obtained using the information and data provided, or the solutions including scripts and processed data such as summary statistics

▼ Special Contract on this Competition
In accordance with Article III “Prizes and Rights” of the special regulations established for this contest as described below, participants will either choose to make their own submission data, source code and other relevant items be licensed under an Open Source Initiative approved license (www.opensource.org) or not. This license imposes no restrictions on commercial use for licensed models, source code, and any results attained using said source code. Incidentally, the participants who will not choose this license will not be able to prize winner candidate, even though they can participate in the contest. In regard to posting and/or other publication on any social media site, blog or similar by the participant of information relating to any algorithm developed by said participant or any other materials produced for or related to this contest (including materials used for final submissions and/or final evaluations/inspections), no restrictions apply to posting and/or publication as long as the participant clearly explains that the posted/published items relate to this contest, and absolutely posts the positing and/or publication information (including the link URL to the pages) on the contest forum in order to let all the participants know it.


In order to participate in the Competition, you are required to agree to these Terms, in addition to the Terms of Use of SIGNATE.JP Site (hereinafter referred to as the “Terms of Use”). You should participate in the Competition after reading carefully and agreeing to these Terms. If you agree, these Terms, the matters that are added to these Terms as "additional matters", the Terms of Use and other terms and conditions that you have agreed to shall be binding on the relevant parties as integral documents.


Article 1. Definitions

１.For the purpose of these Terms, the following terms shall be defined as follows:

(１)"Site" means the website "SIGNATE (https://signate.jp)” on which the Competitions are posted.
(２)"Competition" means any competition on AI development or data analysis on the Site as held by the Host.
(３)"Host" is the host(s) of the Competitions. The Host may be SIGNATE, Inc. (hereinafter referred to as the “Company”) or the Company’s client companies, affiliated companies, schools or organizations, etc. (hereinafter referred to as the “Client(s)”).
(４)"Participant(s)" means the member(s) who participate in a Competition.
(５)"Submissions" means, collectively, the analysis and prediction results and reports, etc. as submitted in the Competition.
(６)"Final Submissions" means the Submissions that are specified by a Participant on the prescribed page in the Site by the time of completion of a Competition.
(７)"Winner Candidate" means the Participant who has received a notice from the Company that he/she is nominated as a winner candidate.
(８)"Submissions for Final Judgment" means the analysis and prediction model and learning data, etc. as submitted by a Winner Candidate pursuant to the instructions of the Company.
(９)"Final Judgment" means the acceptance inspection and judgment, including reproducibility verification, by the Company for the Final Submissions and Submissions for Final Judgment of a Winner Candidate.
(１０)"Winner" means the Winner Candidate who is informed by the Company that he/she has won a prize.
２.Unless otherwise defined in these Terms, the terms used in these Terms that are defined in the Terms of Use shall have the same meaning as defined in the Terms of Use.

Article 2. Competition

１.A member who desires to participate in a Competition shall be required to agree to these Terms and to satisfy the conditions for participation as specified in each such Competition. Any person who is not a member shall not participate in any Competition.
２.Participants shall participate in each Competition in the manner as advised by the Company and shall be obligated to comply with the rules as prescribed in each Competition.
３.Participants may submit the Submissions for the assignment of each Competition during the period of such Competition and submit a proposal on the method of solving the problem to the Host by the end of the period of the said Competition.
４.Participants may submit the Final Submissions in the form specified in each Competition by the time specified by the said Competition.
５.The Final Submissions as submitted shall be evaluated by the evaluation method as specified in each Competition and the final rank order shall be determined based on such evaluation.
６.Any Participant may, as a general rule, check the evaluation results of the Participant him/herself and each of the other Participants on the Site for the Submissions that may be evaluated quantitatively.
７.Participants shall be liable or otherwise responsible for their own Submissions, including their legality.
８.Participants shall not submit any Submissions that have no direct relationship to each Competition.
９.Unless otherwise provided for, Participants shall not directly communicate to, consult with, make a request to, solicit or take any other actions with the Host in respect of the matters related to a Competition during the period of the said Competition.
１０.Any Participant who has uncertainty or questions about any Competition shall make sure to contact the Company or its designee through the procedures prescribed by the Company as posted on the Site.
１１.The Company shall not be obligated to pay any remuneration or other consideration other than those prescribed in the following Article for any act of the Participants as prescribed in paragraphs hereof.

Article 3 Reward and Vesting of Rights

１.Unless otherwise provided for, any Participant shall satisfy the following requirements in order to be entitled to receive a reward in any Competition that offers a reward:

(１)To be a winner;
(２)To agree to transfer to the Host and the relevant transferee of rights in such Competition all transferable rights, such as copyrights, rights to obtain patents and know-how, etc. in and to all analysis and prediction results, reports, analysis and prediction model, algorithm, source code and documentations for the model reproducibility, etc., and the Submissions contained in the Final Submissions and Submissions for Final Judgment (including the rights as prescribed in Article 27 and Article 28 of the Copyright Act and the rights to obtain patents; hereinafter referred to as the "Rights");
(３)To agree that any relevant transferee of rights exclusively has the right to use the know-how contained in the Final Submissions and Submissions for Final Judgment for its own business and other purpose without any restriction;
(４)To agree not to exercise moral rights to the Rights against the relevant transferee of rights;
(５)To enter into an agreement for the transfer of the Rights with the relevant eligible transferee of rights, including the agreement to the matter in the preceding three (3) items and other reasonable provisions;
(６)To have the personal identity of such Participant verified by the Company.
(７)Not to breach any provision of these Terms and the Terms of Use.

２.Any Winner Candidate shall, after having received a notice from the Company that he/she is nominated as a winner candidate, submit the Submissions for Final Judgment on or before the designated date and communicate the matters requiring confirmation or response in relation to the Final Submissions and the Submissions for Final Judgment to the Company on or before the designated date, in accordance with the instructions of the Company. The Company shall carry out the final judgment based on such matters requiring confirmation or response. If the Company receives no confirmation or response satisfactory to the Company on or before the designated date, the Company may exclude such Winner Candidate from the subject of the final judgment.
３.If the Company considers that the Final Submissions or Submissions for Final Judgment need to be amended or modified, or there occur any additional matters requiring confirmation, in the course of the final judgment, any Winner Candidate shall take action or make response in relation to the matters that require amendment, etc. or the detailed information on the matters requiring confirmation, on or before the designated date in accordance with the instructions of the Company. If the Company receives no action or response satisfactory to the Company on or before the designated date, the Company may exclude such Winner Candidate from the final judgment.
４.The Company shall determine the Winner through the final judgment and inform the Winner to that effect.

Article 4 Confidentiality

１.Any Participant shall treat any information and data that they receive from the Company in relation to each Competition (hereinafter referred to as the "Company-Provided Information") as confidential information and shall not disclose the same to any third party and use the same for any purpose other than for such Competition and purpose specified by the Company separately; provided, however, that the confidential information shall not include any information that falls under any of the following items:

(１)Information that is known to the public at the time of the disclosure;
(２)Information that is already possessed by the Participant at the time of the disclosure (only in the case where such Participant may demonstrate such fact by reasonable means);
(３)Information that becomes known to the public without the fault of the Participant after the disclosure;
(４)Information that is independently developed by the Participant without reference to any information as disclosed (except for those Submissions of the person eligible for a prize which are evaluated); or
(５)Information that is rightfully disclosed by any third party having a right to do so without the obligations of confidentiality (only in the case where such Participant may demonstrate such fact by reasonable means).

２.Any Participant shall delete or return to the Company the Company-Provided Information immediately after the completion of each Competition.
３.Any Winner shall handle his/her Final Submissions and Submissions for Final Judgment in the same manner as prescribed in paragraph 1 hereof.
４.If there is any separate arrangement in relation to the confidential information in each Competition, the provisions of such arrangement shall prevail over the provisions of these Terms.
５.If any dispute occurs between the Host or other third party and the Company due to the breach by any Participant of the provisions of this Article and such other party makes any claim against the Company, such Participant shall compensate for any damage, loss, expenses (including, but not limited to, attorneys’ fees), lost profits and lost revenues, etc. incurred by the Company.
６.The provisions of this Article shall survive the termination of the relevant Competition or the Participant’s completion of the procedures for withdrawal from the service of the Company, with respect to the Company-Provided Information and the Winner’s Final Submissions and Submissions for Final Judgment for a period of five (5) years thereafter.

Article 5 Prohibited Acts of Participants

１．The Company shall prohibit Participants from engaging in any of the following acts in any Competition:

(１)An act of cracking, cheating, spoofing other misconduct;
(２)An act of directly communicating to, consulting with, making a request to, soliciting or responding to solicitation or other activities to other Participants or the Host (other than the Company) without the involvement of the Company;
(３)Any profitmaking activities using the Competition (including solicitation or scouting activities, and use for a third party in educational business, etc.) without the prior approval of the Company in writing or any other manner specified by the Company;
(４)Transfer, offering as collateral or other disposition of the status as a Participant or the rights or obligations as a Participant (except with the prior written consent of the Company); and
(５)Any other act in breach of the Terms of Use.

２.If the Company deems that a Participant engages in any of the prohibited acts as prescribed in the preceding paragraph, the Company may, without prior notice to the Participant, disqualify the Participant from the Competition in which the Participant participates, temporarily suspend the Participant from using the service of the Company, withdraw the Participant’s membership, claim damages from the Participant or take any other measures deemed necessary by the Company.

Article 6. Change, Discontinuation or Termination of Provision of Services under These Terms

１.The Company may change or temporarily suspend the services provided by the Company under these Terms without prior notice to the members.
２.Upon one (1) month prior notice to the members, the Company may suspend for a long period of time or terminate the services provided by the Company under these Terms.
３.The Company shall not be liable for any results or damage arising from the measures taken by the Company under this Article.

Article 7 Modification of Terms

１.The Company may modify, add or delete any provisions of these Terms from time to time without the approval of the members.

Enforced on April 1, 2018