nuTonomy, a software company, has developed a smartphone app which residents in Singapore can download and use to book the self-driving vehicle in future.
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Selected members of the general public will have the ability to hail a free trip through their smartphones in taxis operated by nuTonomy, an autonomous auto software start-up.
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. 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. This, according to the company, would help in reducing the number of cars from 900,000 to 300,000 cars on Singapore roads. Currently, the taxi service is being operated in a business and residential district called “One-North”, which spans over an area of 2.5-square-mile.
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.
nuTonomy is offering the first of its kind service starting with six modified Renault Zoe and Mitsubishi iMiEV electric cars. Additionally, two cameras mounted on the dashboard monitor traffic movement and traffic signal changes.
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CEO and co-founder of nuTonomy, Karl Iagnemma, said, “nuTonomy’s first-in-the-world public trial is a direct reflection of the level of maturity that we have achieved with our AV software system”.
