NuTonomy rolls out first driverless taxi
THE FIRST driverless taxi began work this week in a limited public trial on the streets of Singapore.
Developer nuTonomy invited a select group of people to download their app and ride for free in its “robo-taxi” in a western Singapore hi-tech business district, hoping to get feedback ahead of a planned launch of the service in 2018.
“This is really a moment in history that’s going to change how cities are built, how we really look at our surroundings,” nuTonomy executive Doug Parker said.
The trial rides took place in a Mitsubishi i-MiEv electric vehicle, with an engineer sitting behind the steering wheel to monitor the system and take control if necessary.
The trial was on an ongoing basis, nuTonomy said, and followed private testing that began in April.
Parker, whose company had partnered with the Singaporean government on the project, said he hoped to have 100 taxis working commercially in the south-east Asian city state by 2018.
Nutonomy is one of several companies racing to launch self-driving vehicles, with carmakers and technology firms striking new alliances.
Swedish carmaker Volvo said last week that it had agreed to a $300 million (R4 billion) alliance with ride-hailing service Uber to develop a driverless vehicle.
Israeli driving assistant software maker Mobileye said its vehicle, developed with Delphi Automotive, would be ready for production by 2019, while Ford Motor said its self-driving car was slated for 2021.