Japanese companies are developing self-driving forklifts, which they believe can help the construction and logistics industries cope with severe labor shortages as the country's working population shrinks.

Major construction firm Shimizu is developing a forklift that can automatically avoid obstacles.

Artificial intelligence analyzes images from an onboard camera to accurately detect the location of pallets and other objects. AI can adjust the forklift's course even if the items are not at their designated locations.

Shimizu aims to commercialize the autonomous vehicle by the middle of this year.

Japan's biggest forklift maker, Toyota Industries, is developing a vehicle that uses so-called "deep learning." This technology enables AI to learn from experience and improve its performance over time.