SOFTWARE developer nuTonomy has started the very first trial of driverless taxis in Singapore.
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Singapore’s autonomous taxi service is now invite-only and only a handful of people are registered, but the company hopes to expand operations to include many more people as the trial continues.
People can avail the taxi service by downloading the app and ride for free the “robo-taxi” in a western Singapore hi-tech business district. This, according to the company, would help in reducing the number of cars from 900,000 to 300,000 cars on Singapore roads.
Also, in the beta phase, the company is only working in a coverage area of 2.5-square miles, in a business cum residential district of Singapore, called “One-North” and pickup as well as dropping points are also now designated and are limited to a few selected points. Parker, whose company has partnered with the Singapore government on the project, said he hoped to have 100 taxis working commercially in the Southeast Asian citystate by 2018.
Multiple companies, including Google and Volvo, have been testing self-driving cars on public roads for several years. nutonomy is one of them racing to launch self-driving vehicles, with automakers and technology firms striking new alliances. Moreover, pickup and drop-off locations are now available only on specified spots.
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nuTonomy’s cars, a Renault Zoe or Mitsubishi i-MiEV specially configured for autonomous driving, will have an engineer from nuTonomy in the vehicle to observe system performance and assume control if needed to ensure passenger comfort and safety. Additionally, two cameras mounted on the dashboard monitor traffic movement and traffic signal changes. Uber too will be starting self-driving taxi operations in Pittsburg in the coming weeks.
